For this issue I had been drawing a blank on what to discuss for my editorial, then I found out that Frosh Week was under attack again, and now I can rant for quite a while.
On Monday October 3, I attended a ‘focus group’ meeting which was described as being about the future of Frosh Week, but ended up being entirely about the Student Success Office’s new plan to extend the first year transition through all of first year, not just the first couple weeks. Near the end of the meeting we were all blind-sided by news of a motion going before Council and Senate to shorten Orientation Week by two days, and re-allocate those days to ‘Success Days’ in October. Despite many questions we were never able to get a firm answer as to whether the SSO representatives who led our meeting actually knew about this motion or if they were as in the dark as we were.
At best this discrepancy shows a worrying disconnect between different branches of the SSO, if one group is gathering student input and concerns before drafting a new program, while another group is pushing through a change actively disregarding student concerns, then that is a big problem.
At worst this was a diversionary tactic to try and avert student’s attention away from the Senate and Council motion so that the SSO could avoid the protest that happened a couple years ago when the University administration tried to shorten Orientation Week. For the people who don’t know, or weren’t here at the time, this has all been attempted before, and students managed to organize in time to show their concerns and stop the motion from going forward. Look at Andrew Fisher’s Frosh Week article in the EngSoc Executive Reports on page 7 to learn more about the plans this year and how you can get more information.
One major concern I have about the proposed changes to Frosh Week is the lack of planning and firm deadlines that have been set forward. The two days that would be moved have not been technically allocated beyond being study days, or ‘student success days’ while the Thursday and Friday of Frosh Week would now be classes instead. Personally I think this is a waste of time and resources, as you really aren’t gaining any time for either first years or upper years. First years are losing two days devoted to meeting new people, learning about University resources, and gaining that feeling of really belonging to the University and faculty environment. Upper years lose two days of vacation, or potential co-op money in exchange for a long weekend in October when they can’t actually use the days to relax because professors could take the opportunity to assign longer assignments.
The other concern I have with re-allocating these two days is the impact on Frosh Week, as I am sure the SSO and the administration will not want to lose any of their programming during Frosh Week. Friday has traditionally been used for ‘Jumpstart Friday’, or ‘Conerstones’ as it was known this year, where First Years can attend seminar type talks about topics like money, living off campus, and adjusting to University Life. Obviously the SSO is trying to increase the amount of programming they have for First years through these Student Success days in October, so I seriously doubt that they will be dropping Cornerstones. This means that Cornerstones will probably be pushed into one of the other days of Frosh ‘Week’ – probably at the expense of faculty events. First years still need to write the ELPE and attend other University run events, so where will this time come from? Again, it will come from sacrificing faculty time.
The proposed changes to Frosh Week can really be boiled down to a simple balance of alternatives, welcoming frosh to their faculty and University and making them feel a part of the community, or focusing on the academics and services to improve retention. This seems to be the attitude of the SSO and the administration many times. The last time the attempt to shorten Frosh Week was made one member of senate said that Orientation was pointless because the best way to orient a student to the University was to have them attend classes. At the time I thought that was the worst argument I have had ever heard – and I still do.
What I have learned about University is that there will always be difficult terms, bad profs, too many assignments, and not enough time to sleep. There will always be ups and downs, times when you feel completely overwhelmed and think that there is no way you can ever pass that final exam. What gets me through those times is not the lessons I learned at Jumpstart Friday (to be completely honest I didn’t go when I was a frosh), or the knowledge that there are counsellors or academic help sessions, it has always been my friends and the community I’m a part of.
During Frosh Week you get the chance to meet hundreds of your fellow first years, as well as dedicated upper year leaders – you know they are dedicated because they are crawling through the mud and having pancakes made in their hardhats when they could be relaxing at home before they have to start classes again. As leaders we sacrifice what little time we have before jumping back into classes because we want the first years to have the greatest Frosh Week they can possible have, because leaders in previous years did the same for us. Everyone who has participated in Frosh Week has earned their hardhat, has been a human chair for EDCOM (I was a footstool, but lets not get into technicalities), and met the Tool.
Whenever I needed help in first year I always ended up going to the TAs for my concepts course rather than the WEEF TAs hired for each subject, or I would get advice from upper year students who I had met as leaders during Frosh Week, all of whom are some of my best friends years later, even after many have graduated. It is the personal connections and relationships that form the integral support network that people need to succeed and prosper at University, not the seminars and motivational speeches. Those things help, but unless a student has the support behind them to try new things and seek out help when they need it (or even admit to themselves that they need help) then they will never take those necessary steps.
I don’t think these study days or student success days are going to have a measurable effect on the retention rates of the University, or on the mental health of students. It may just be me, but if I am struggling with a topic I seek help from friends in my class, or talking directly with the professor if required, I don’t go to Needles Hall to see a counsellor, I don’t need a one hour seminar on study skills, I just need the help and support of my friends and family. If a first year is struggling at this point, as this is approximately the time the SSO has identified as a good ‘check-up’ time, I doubt they are going to have the initiative to go to theses seminars, or will be able to effectively use the study time. Most will probably take the time to sleep, as Reading Week usually is used for me, or will go home to visit family and friends.
The great thing about Frosh Week is that it can create the feeling of home within your University community, it can also be the home of some of your best friends, friends who are going through the same things as you and can give the support you need. Every September since my own Frosh Week I have spent the week before classes being a leader for Orientation, because it recharges my love of Engineering and the University of Waterloo. It gives me the opportunity to welcome the next year of future UW grads, letting them know that they are a part of the community and there are people who can help them.
Think about what Frosh Week means to you, and to those around you, and decide if you want people in the years to come to have the same opportunity.
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