Four students were busy with errands and nervous with anticipation this summer as orientation week approached. The students - seniors, not freshmen - are orientation co-coordinators who have been preparing for a week of new and traditional events aimed at welcoming new Jumbos to Walnut Hill since June.
Incoming students will experience many of the same activities as last year's freshmen, including the elaborate first night celebration in the Gantcher Family Sports and Convocation Center, now an annual tradition. Additions to the schedule include an R-rated hypnotist and an intramural sports program arranged by dorm.
Hired by Tufts in the spring, the co-coordinators worked with Dean of Students Bruce Reitman throughout the summer to arrange all academic, advising, and "co-curricular," or social events. Every campus tour, student panel, luncheon, and list of names was arranged or assisted by the foursome.
"It's been a lot of late nights and hard work," coordinator Melissa Carson said. "But watching [the freshmen] have fun will make it worth it."
Each orientation co-coordinator has a focus: Carson has worked on logistics and co-curricular events, Melissa Callan on academic advising, Dan Reinhard on academic programs, and Jennifer Holt on the Gantcher celebration.
Holt has perhaps the most social job. "I got the party," she said. Holt has been coordinating vendors and contractors to turn the Jumbo-sized indoor track into a multimedia stage and dining area.
The dinner and entertainment event, which occurs tonight at staggered times based on advising groups, received immensely positive feedback after its premiere last year. This year, Holt said, the celebration will be more efficient and even bigger. Without giving too much away, the evening will now include an alumni element and end with a more colorful "bang," she said.
Also new on the itinerary this year is the two-part Celebration on the Hill, which will take place this Friday night. The event is a revival of the traditional "Light on the Hill" candlelight ceremony, which was minimized last year to the lighting of candles at the end of the Gantcher celebration.
The second part, dubbed "Author on the Hill," will be an appearance by author and Tufts alumnus Christopher Golden. "I'm very excited about [Author on the Hill] not only because it adds an alumni connection but also because it's a more academic program," Associate Dean Jean Herbert said. Golden is the author of a mystery series entitled "Body of Evidence" and a writer for the television shows "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel."
Unlike other universities, Tufts does not have an office of orientation. Instead, student co-coordinators work with various departments to organize the logistics of each event. "This model, although it may be more work, is better in some ways because you get current student enthusiasm and a better connection with the student body," Reitman said.
Reinhard recounted an hour-long phone conversation he recently had with an incoming student, and said, "Having student coordinators makes all the difference."
Aside from arranging the nuts and bolts of campus events, orientation coordinators are also responsible for answering the questions of incoming freshmen over the summer. "We're the voice on the other end of the phone," Callan said. In addition to returning emails and fielding phone calls, the coordinators duties include the upkeep of Connection 2006, the freshmen forum website.
In past years only two students have served as coordinators. The workload, Carson said, was more than enough for two. "This year we didn't save anything for the last minute," Carson said, alluding to years past.
The goal of orientation week, said Reitman, is to increase class identity and build school spirit. He hopes that a variety of events and an attention to detail, largely on the part of student co-coordinators, will make incoming students feel comfortable and enthusiastic about beginning at Tufts.
