The scariest thing at Conn lies not among the rumored ghosts in Palmer, nor in the pen of a professor: it’s in the post office.
Above the middle wall, beyond the glass, there is a listing of class years, presumably to help the staff sort the mail: upperclassmen will find that every year, without fail, their class year has moved dauntingly closer to the top. We all know that we’re getting older by new CELS workshops, major requirements, and letters from the senior giving committee, but there’s nothing scarier than the visual manifestation of our impending graduation.
Why is this happening? It’s the freshmen.
Near the end of every academic year, the current students of Connecticut College are inundated with information on “newcomers,” rookies, virtual aliens to the rest of us: the newest incoming class. Once Admissions has made their final decisions, the office begins the first preparations, assembling informational packets, collecting final transcripts, and sending camel-covered t-shirts to a group of 500 students that will be arriving on our campus come fall. The seniors, ready for graduation, don’t care; the juniors are too focused on senior year; the sophomores are probably apathetic; and the freshmen… well, they’re just looking forward to no longer being freshmen.
So we embrace this new class, and [over]accommodate them—introduce them to their Housefellow, Floor Governor and Student Advisor, and then to their Dean, the SGA President, this other dean who “doesn’t deal with your class directly but you can always come and talk to” and the Health Peer Educators, then show them that they can not only study in Shain Library, but in the music library! And in the outdoor classroom, and on Tempel Green, and in their common room—we overwhelm them with advice and friendship and willing ears, but it’s time to finally ask: what are you thinking?
Luckily, they seem to love it. All the things upperclassmen take for granted are but newfangled freedoms to the freshman.
On Cro dances: “I have been to clubs, so I know how crazy parties can get,” said John Dargan ’14. “I am surprised at just how CRAZY these parties get.”
On combining the dances with a stash of sacred Cro money, Aaron Davis ’14 says, “I only have about nine dollars left.”
“They are fun!” said Arisa Fuji ’14. “I get to meet a lot of people—whether they remember me or not.”
As far as transitioning into Conn goes, the process is generally positive, though a little rocky. “I am very overwhelmed by all the resources,” said Fuji, an international student from Japan. “It’s one thing if they’re introduced slowly, one by one… but you get here and you meet your Student Advisor, your International Advisor, your Faculty Advisor, and people are constantly explaining all these things… honestly, I only know what SAs, IAs, and FAs are. As much as I feel supported to know that they are here, it’s a little much.”
Brittany Armstrong ’13, a Blackstone Student Advisor, finds Student Advisors “necessary for freshman without International Student Advisors or Big Sibs. I think that they’re a nice concept but not exactly needed.”
Still, the multitude of choices works for some students. Davis, a Williams School alumnus, enjoys the options. “I like that the resources are vast. It allows me to choose from a wide range of individuals that can help me with all kinds of problems. I’ll take advantage of it because there are so many!”
Arriving a few days earlier than everyone else, the freshmen initially viewed Conn through a very particular prism: orientation, the first five days of their Conn experience.
Melanie Thibeault ’14 had a few questions about “the irony of suggesting we’d be disoriented for five days,” but ultimately enjoyed herself. “I liked orientation a lot,” she said. “It kept me busy, which distracted from being homesick, so I met a lot of people. The highlight of was definitely winning the first couple of games with the rest of my section, central 1. It was a great, unifying experience.”
Others didn’t feel the same way. Davis found orientation “boring, yet informative,” and Fuji said the strenuous schedule made it “too hard to meet people.”
Now that orientation has ended and classes have started, students’ opinions have begun to change. “My workload is pretty light, but I’m learning a lot,” said Dargan.
“There’s a lot of reading, but it also depends on your major. I don’t feel like I’m just reading to be reading, because the readings usually provide the basis for class discussion,” said Davis.
The newness of Conn has worn away, and the freshmen are finally starting to feel like they belong. Thibeault says, “Now I’ve started all of my classes, I feel like a real member of Camel-land instead of a lost little calf.”
Stay tuned for an update on these four freshmen in three months’ time.
