February 9, 2012
The Committee on the First-Year Experience is slated to talk with members of the community next Monday about the challenges students face when they arrive at Hamilton. The discussion could not come at a more opportune time; the campus, amidst concerns surrounding destructive drinking behavior, could benefit from a second look at how one of the most critical aspects of the first-year experience—orientation—sets the stage for the rest of a student’s college career. One major revision to the way orientation is run has already occurred: Residential Life now leads orientation, starting with last month’s program for Jan-admits and transfers.
But what does this take-over actually say about the role Res Life plays in students’ lives? More than anything, the transition from high school to college is a lifestyle change, so it seems only appropriate that Res Life, instead of Student Activities, will oversee orientation from now on. We are happy to see this change in philosophy taking shape; associating orientation with the defining characteristic of college life (that is, living in a dorm), is a logical step that has great potential to dramatically improve students’ transition to college. A whole host of social and behavioral obstacles arise from dorm life—many of which involve alcohol—and so the first step in alleviating those obstacles is allowing Resident Advisers (RAs) to become more integral to the orientation process.
This is not to say that RAs don’t already play an active role in helping their advisees adjust; in fact, we recognize that most RAs do a fantastic job of making sure first years feel like they are part of a warm and welcoming community. However, we believe that in previous years, RAs and orientation leaders (OLs) have given first-years mixed messages about college life. Alcohol policy is particularly problematic when it comes to this issue; there is a tendency toward OLs providing a more lax picture of Hamilton drinking policy, whereas RAs are more confined to conveying rules and regulations. There is a demonstrated need, then, for coordinated language between RAs and OLs— how do these upperclassmen “mentors” differ in their ways of relating and talking to first-years? And how can we help first-years understand these roles?
Having RAs involved in the more enjoyable aspects of orientation could change their reputations and help first-years see them as allies and resources rather than simply extensions of the administration. Above all, though, we believe that RAs and OLs could better align their goals so as to give students both a pragmatic perspective on the established Hamilton social life as well as the opportunity to create alternatives for themselves. We propose that during orientation, students have small-group discussions led by their OLs and RAs about alcohol before they begin drinking at Hamilton. That way, they would already have a dialogue established with their RAs when issues around alcohol do arise, making it easier for students to seek advice from them.
We commend the College for deciding to put orientation under the umbrella of Residential Life; this seems like the first step toward a more thorough understanding of how alcohol education, as well as students’ acclimation to Hamilton social life in general, factor into orientation. We hope, however, to see more student involvement, which will be the most effective way to encourage and establish a productive dialogue about drinking at Hamilton in years to come.