While getting around campus may still be a challenge, you, the Class of 2008 have no doubt begun to comprehend the numerous oppurtunites available to members of the Wesleyan community.
As Orientation Week got off the ground, the Republican National Convention descended upon New York City, providing a number of you the chance to yell, wave signs, and be a part of what will no doubt be a highly contentious election year. Even before arriving in Middletown, many of you spent the summer working for the Democratic Party, the Kerry-Edwards campaign, or any number of political organizations.
This is an exciting year to be at the University. The Wesleyan community, true to its reputation, will provide a politically active environment that will likely be more intense than any of your remaining four years in Middletown. For the non-politically minded frosh out there, however, Wesleyan provides a dizzying amount of opportunities for pretty much anything a liberal arts minded student could desire.
When the near-insanity of Orientation Week ends, your real life at Wesleyan begins; the traditional college experiences as well as the uniqueness our home has to offer. Nowhere else will an independent film screening be followed by a drunken impromptu street party, or an artisticly conceived nude gathering.
Wesleyan is an experience, socially, academically, and in practically every regard, and the only way to really live it is to try everything. Professors are amazing, class sizes are small, people are friendly, everyone is beautiful—OK, maybe all of that isn’t entirely true, but this is a special place. Of course, there will be times when stress hits, and a cold wind blows across Foss Hill, but the atmosphere provided by your talented, friendly and energetic classmates is something that can never be dampened.
But it’s still Orientation Week, it’s still the beginning, and about the only time when a trip to MoCon can still be a new adventure.
Welcome to Wesleyan, and be sure to enjoy the experiences most of us upperclassmen wish we could still be living. Be a political activist. Be a lacrosse player. Be a groundbreaking actor. Take advantage of this fleeting opportunity. In four years, Orientation Week will not seem that long ago, and as long as the memories are fresh, they may as well be good ones.
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