A look at pre-orientation: History, tradition

Welcoming freshmen to Tufts for over 20 years, pre-orientation programs have been a standard part of the Jumbo getting-to-know-you routine for hundreds of incoming freshmen.

The three most popular programs — Tufts Wilderness Orientation (TWO), Freshman Orientation Community Service and Fitness (FOCUS) and Fitness and Individual Development at Tufts (FIT) — are grounded in traditions and customs passed on by peer leaders to young Jumbos, as is International Orientation (IO) — aimed at foreign students entering unfamiliar territory. Conversation, Action, Faith and Education (CAFÉ), new to the pre-orientation scene, has grown in size since its start last year.

Tufts Wilderness Orientation (TWO)

"As a freshman, doing Wilderness gives you a great connection with the other participants, even with people from other groups,"  Benjamin Smith (LA '10), one of this year's TWO coordinators, said. "Just to be able to start a conversation with, ‘You did Wilderness? I did, too. What trip were you on?' gives you a common experience to talk about … It's a great peer support network."

TWO is the oldest and largest pre-orientation program. Freshmen have the chance to explore New England by land or sea on one of five five-day trips — backpacking, canoeing, a hybrid of the two, climbing or "trail crew" — and, in some cases, to take off their clothing in the woods.

The program's primary legacy lies in the bonds formed during the expeditions, Smith said.

"That's the great tradition — that Wilderness isn't over when the program ends," he said. "A lot of the groups have dinner once a week [throughout the year]. They keep the relationships alive, and the leaders check in on the freshmen."

Leaders make their charges feel welcome on campus during what might otherwise be a stressful time.

"It made my transition from high school to college a lot smoother," Smith said, "knowing that I had upperclassmen who were so willing to lend a hand and offer advice."

Freshman Orientation Community Service (FOCUS)

FOCUS, founded in 1997 by Jared Townshend (E '98) and David Lipsky (LA '98), follows a design similar to TWO's — small, independent groups with student leaders go on trips of several days and inherit traditions that have been passed down to each incoming class for years. But FOCUS's, well, focus is on community service in the Boston area.

Nine groups of freshmen participated this year, each concentrating on a specific theme: hunger, homelessness, the environment, kids, special needs, animals, urban beautification, the elderly and health.

The groups' activities vary from year to year, but time-honored customs like the "insanity" of arrivals day remain important elements of the program, according to senior and FOCUS co-coordinator Rory Clark.

"The staff basically storms the kids' cars and the vans that pick them up from the airport, and we sing, chant, pull all the kids out of the cars and make them run through streamers to officially enter college," she said.

Clark said that two years ago, she and her fellow staffers, unprompted and without a plan, "went completely crazy" upon the participants' arrivals. Thus began the ritual.

"It just stuck," she said. "We've kept up the unbridled joy since."

This year, Clark and her fellow coordinators are at it again, trying to start a new FOCUS tradition. As always, FOCUS participants and their leaders slept on campus in the Gantcher Center for the first night, but this year, the freshmen woke up in the morning to the entire staff performing a choreographed dance to Lustra's "Scotty Doesn't Know" (2006).

Another FOCUS ritual occurs on the final night of the program, when the staff and participants return to campus. Each group has a limited time to create a short skit recalling their collective experiences and perform it in front of the whole program.

"Seventy-five percent of the skits are usually dedicated to making fun of the leaders," Clark said.

Fitness and Individual Development at Tufts (FIT)

"Every year we get positive feedback about our traditions from the freshmen, so we know those are their favorite aspects of the program," senior Max Gray, a FIT head-leader this year, said.

Though FIT, directed by Assistant Director of Athletics Branwen Smith-King, is a relatively recent addition to the pre-orientation line-up, participation has steadily increased — from 45 freshmen in 2001 to 188 this year. Most of the actual activities, including workouts, lectures on nutrition and stress management and outdoor adventures like rock climbing, remain basically the same each year with yoga a recent addition to the slate.

Gray attributes the growth in the program to word of mouth.

"One part of [FIT's appeal] is the traditions we've upheld," he said. A movie night, excursions in Boston and an evening of bowling are some of Gray's favorite traditions.

Former and current FIT participants and leaders are most nostalgic about a traditional cruise on a chartered, multi-level boat in Boston Harbor on the last night of the program. As a DJ spins tunes, "it becomes one epic dance party," senior Lorien Whitehead, another FIT head-leader, said.

Despite ever more students to manage, Smith-King says that maintaining small groups with two peer leaders remains one of her top priorities.

"It starts intimate and the kids get to know their leaders, and then the groups start branching out and interacting with other groups. They can ask questions and get to know each other. Friendships are developed and people develop confidence and trust in each other."

Of course, another FIT tradition that will continue to reel in nervous freshmen is the one that's perhaps least talked about by leaders — the obvious bonus of moving to campus a week earlier than the rest of the freshman class.