Though this year’s WesFest has come and gone, the lasting impression of life at Wesleyan lingers on in the memories of the class of 2010. For many prefrosh, some memories have been indelibly imprinted as their first taste of Wesleyan life: three nights of parties until four in the morning, three nights of meeting eccentric, fascinating people, and not least, three nights of no parents.
“WesFest was amazing!” said Shira Knishkowy ’10 from West Harford, Conn. “I loved everyone and everything about the school.”
Assistant Dean of Admission Leah Kelley also felt that WesFest 2006, which ran from April 20 to April 22, went well. According to Kelley, 453 admitted students attended this year’s WesFest, marking a 17 percent increase from 2005.
Many members of the class of ’10 wholeheartedly agreed that WesFest lived up to their expectations. Descriptions of WesFest experiences from prefrosh range from “fun” to “great” to “a sick three-day party.” Some of the highlights of WesFest included a talk by Assistant Red Sox General Manager Jed Hoyer ’96, an audio diary presentation by a young South African woman living with AIDS, a Queer Information Panel, a Gag Reflex show, and a fire-spinning performance by Prometheus.
For Mike Pernick ’10, from New Hyde Park, N.Y., his first impression of Wesleyan when arriving on Thursday (April 20) was of Foss Hill. According to Pernick, he was walking with his parents when his mother commented that she was glad to see so many people relaxing on the hill, and that she was worried he might stay in his room too often.
“My mom didn’t realize what was going on,” Pernick said. “I said, ‘No mom. I think I’m going to be joining them.’ And she said, ‘Good for you.’”
However, Julie Huang ’10 from New York City, N.Y., was not thrilled by some of the festivities on Thursday.
“WesFest gave me a bad impression about the school at first,” Huang said. “I thought that most people smoked at Wesleyan and that they were going to be really gross about it. Because I came during National Marijuana Day, I didn’t have much to do since everyone was just smoking it up on Foss Hill.”
Huang said she still had a good time.
Many students found Wesleyan’s relaxed and accepting atmosphere to be the right environment for meeting other people.
“Everyone seemed so chill and friendly,” said Max Lavine ’10 from Evanston, Ill. “I don’t know if it’s in the food or what, but people seemed ridiculously friendly; not in a creepy way, but just genuinely nice people, so the whole meeting people aspect was great.”
Many members of the class of ’10 said the best part of WesFest was the people at Wesleyan. It was what some of them saw as Wesleyan’s genuinely enthusiastic, outgoing, and unique student body that seemed to be a compelling factor for prefrosh at WesFest in their decision to attend Wesleyan.
According to Pernick, the “outgoing and accommodating” people at WesFest played a decisive role in his choice of Wesleyan over another small liberal arts college. While the other school offered him more money, Pernick claims that during WesFest, he fell in love with Wesleyan.
“If it wasn’t for WesFest, I’d probably be going to Hamilton and 40,000 dollars richer,” Pernick said.
For Aine McCarthy ’10 from Waterford, Conn., her experience with the Outing Club summarized what she liked best about WesFest. When McCarthy walked into Mocon on Thursday, she began talking to Outhouse members selling T-shirts. In the middle of conversation, she noticed that they were wearing only the T-shirts they were selling and nothing else.
“I tried not to look down, maintaining fierce eye contact,” she said. “I thought I could get away without revealing my embarrassment when the attractive yet totally naked guy told me he liked my shirt, which read, ‘I like to get it on with boys who vote,’ adding the information that he’d voted for Al Gore. At that point I just ran; I’m pretty sure my face was the cardinal red giveaway that I was a prefrosh, not the backpack.”
While some members of the class of ’10 found it difficult to meet other prefrosh, most enjoyed spending time with upper classmen. Most prefrosh got along well with their hosts.
“I spent most of [Thursday] night with… mostly freshmen,” said Spencer Sheridan ’10 from Yorba Linda, Calif. “They were all very nice apart from the fact that they called me ‘Derek’s prefrosh’ rather than learning my name.”
For the prefrosh who did meet other prefrosh, new friendships were created.
“I came to Wes completely alone, but I met a number of prefrosh I’d be honored to call friends next year,” said Tara Anne Beltran Abaring ’10 from the Philippines. “I’m not too sure if I made my new best friend or worst enemy. It’s much to soon to say…But I have a few people in mind…knock on wood.”
Elizabeth Larner ’10, from Ohio, did not want her WesFest experience to end.
“The best part was definitely the people,” she said. “The worst part was leaving.”
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