This past weekend, the campus was filled with the fresh new faces of recently admitted Students of Color (SOC). The Prefrosh Program for admitted SOC offered a variety of events, including the Invisible Man show, the annual SOC fashion show and Mabuhay, the Asian and Asian American cultural show, as well as open classes and academic lunches.
Jointly sponsored by the SOC community and the Office of Admissions, the weekend lasted from Wednesday to Sunday, and was organized by three SOC interns: Jessica Bowen ’11, Jaynice Del Rosario ’11 and Dan Manuyag ’10. Although the SOC weekend overlaps with Wesfest, it was actually created first: black students at the University initiated the program in 1971, hoping to recruit more Students of Color.
“The SOC program was actually established before WesFest,” Bowen wrote in an e-mail. “Now it’s kind of ironic how in many ways people allow the WesFest events to overshadow the SOC program.”
Del Rosario explained that the purpose of SOC weekend is to allow the SOC community to experience the University in many different forms.
“The point is to hold events where they can get to know the SOC community at Wesleyan, because the student body is a big part of any institution,” she said.
The three SOC interns began planning the weekend before winter break, supervising and assisting several committees composed of members of the SOC committee. The Office of Admissions not only funds the weekend, but also provides monetary assistance to those students who cannot visit the University on their own financial means.
“The main purpose for holding the SOC weekend is to give SOCs an opportunity to visit the campus when they may not have been able to afford to on their own (the Admission Office pays for some flights) as well as to spotlight SOC resources and the SOC community, and Wesleyan in general,” Bowen wrote.
The work of the SOC community was not in vain, as many prefrosh who visited appreciated the weekend’s events.
One prefrosh, Gabriel Hernandez, flew all the way from Santa Monica, Calif. to visit during the SOC weekend. Before she came to Wesleyan, Hernandez was pretty set on attending Tufts University, since she didn’t know much about Wesleyan. After her visit, however, Hernandez said she’s seriously considering Wesleyan, and admitted that her decision is much tougher.
Prefrosh Enjie Romero, from East Bay, Calif., and Tim Smezlui, from Ann Arbor, Mich., had similar reactions to the weekend.
“I was enlightened when I was able to attend all the activities that were being held,” Smezlui said. “Especially because I didn’t know much about Wesleyan.”
Romero also explained that many of the other colleges they visited didn’t have events comparable to SOC weekend at the University.
“It was really nice to get to meet a lot of the people that I would be attending school with,” Romero said. “Everyone was friendly and approachable. It was easy for me to talk to anybody.”
Although the SOC interns were enthusiastic about the weekend, Del Rosario expressed one point of contention with the SOC community.
“The truth of the matter is that we lack support from the SOC community on campus,” she said. “The weekend takes a lot of work to put together, and each year it gets harder and harder to find support. SOC weekend was in existence before WesFest and today we are subordinate to WesFest.”
While the SOC weekend may have become overshadowed in some ways, it nevertheless remains an important and positive influence on many prefrosh still waffling about their choice of colleges.
“I really liked Wesleyan,” Hernandez said, “I don’t think I would have considered attending if I would not have visited.”
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