This fall the Notre Dame Class of 2016 experienced a classic ‘Frosh-O’ weekend filled with familiar traditions and routine activities. Due to the Student Campus Orientation Committee’s (SCOC) deliberate planning, however, the newcomers’ first days on campus were noticeably altered in order to foster a more welcoming environment for all.
Ricky Bevington, a senior undergraduate and chairperson of this year’s SCOC, said of the 2012 Frosh-O weekend, “This year we were really working on inclusion issues in general; making sure that every student that came into the orientation experience felt as welcome as possible.”
“That is something that our university does a great job with for a lot of students, but sometimes our general enthusiasm for the traditions and spirit on campus causes us to not necessarily recognize when certain students slip through the cracks,” he continued.
Over the summer, the committee reviewed and assessed feedback from a variety of sources including campus surveys, First Year of Studies focus groups, and comments received by the administration. Using this data, SCOC worked to rethink orientation through the lens of paying particular attention to the needs of every student. They then collaborated with Hall Frosh-O Commissioners and Hall Staffs to implement their ideas into the existing programming.
The SCOC connected with other organizations across campus, such as the Core Council and Multicultural Student Programs and Services, for input on how to make the weekend welcoming and accessible to all incoming students. Addressing comments about the heteronormativity (the cultural practice of distinguishing humans as distinctly engendered and pronouncing heterosexual relationships as normative) of standard activities and making staffs aware of the needs of racial and ethnic minorities were priorities.
Additionally the committee was cognizant of the different personality types of the students. “Orientation is programmed to the most outgoing student possible, which isn’t always the best way to go,” Bevington explained. “We do have other students that are not that outgoing. They sometimes question ‘is this the place for me?’ based on what the program is providing.” Bevington said that the SCOC thoroughly reflected on traditional activities to ensure their meaningfulness and determine whether they were continued solely out of convention.
One particular popular tradition which the SCOC addressed was the renowned serenading between dorms, a practice which traditionally began on the Friday evening of Frosh-O weekend. Bevington explains that the group discussed “what that tradition meant for the campus. Our committee worked a lot to make that tradition sustainable, to make that tradition one that could work with the campus community as it is now.” Reports from previous years that the serenading reached an inappropriate level led the committee to initiate adjustments, such as mandating suitable space between students and ensuring appropriate content in order to promote the comfort of all involved and enhance the bonding aspect of the activity. Without these changes, the committee argued that eventually the administration would have been forced to eliminate the activity altogether.
Bevington summarized the overarching perspective of his committee.
“The main goal [for the SCOC] at this point is trying to reimage orientation at large,” he said. “We made a lot of great changes but what needs to happen now is to get everyone on the same page to make sure the changes we made at orientation become the standard culture of orientation.”
Speaking to the student body’s role in welcoming first year students, Bevington said, “I think everyone should be aware of the fact that each group of students that comes through campus is different. The class of 2016 is a lot different than any other class that has ever been here before… it’s important to realize that they will still have the same traditions we have, but will add to them.”
“The hard thing is to understand that the culture is going to change a little bit.”
Joe Mackel is a senior studying biology. Joe now has an iPhone and a Macbook and is surpassingly ashamed and defensive. But they’re just so suave. Contact him at jmackel@nd.edu.
