Room draw has always been a nightmare. Every year hearts are broken, years-long friendships are ended in a flood of tears and you walk out disappointed and full of CVS candy. The general disappointment and frustration with Residential Life is nothing new for the student body. Two years ago, in order to combat the perceived housing shortage, Dean Torin Moore announced his supposedly exciting initiative to move students to Alpine Commons, an apartment complex a mile away from campus. Only two students moved in the following year.
Before visiting New York for the first time, my memory was filled with a deluge of images from “Friends” and “How I Met Your Mother,” both sitcoms that are set in New York. I had the impression that when one is in New York, there are no ordinary moments — at any one point in time, something, big or small, is happening. As a romantic, in every face I saw, I envisioned a lively person. New York, I believed, was the capital of modernism.
A batch of new orientation programs, part of the “Learn/Explore/Activate/Participate” (LEAP) initiative, sprang up this year in hopes of filling the free time of first-years at orientation, but as with most fresh starts, not everything about the programs was perfect. The Creative Arts and Performances (CAP) program offered more creative first-years the opportunity to explore their talents through workshops and professor-led performances. However, it may not have been as smooth of an experience as it hoped for.
The first time I saw a condom, it was on a banana during a Sexual Health Educators skit. My home country is very conservative, so things like that really aren’t the norm. I was horrified by the public display of sexuality.
First-year orientation, focused on building a sense of community and introducing the new students to the college’s entrenched moral pillars, highlighted an exciting time for the incoming class of 2018. Throughout the week, students engaged in a number of activities emphasizing the social, ethical and communal characteristics of Amherst in small group discussions and in large class-wide assemblies. While most of the dialogue regarding the ethical climate and societal configuration of the college was unquestionably pertinent, at times certain conversations seemed superfluous.
Confession: I have not been an Amherst student for a very long time. Four weeks, to be exact — I arrived on campus on the morning of August 24, heart filled to the brim with nervous expectation, a grin plastered on my face so I wouldn’t scare away any potential friends. Although I haven’t even had my first slice of Antonio’s yet, let alone experienced my first midterm, I do believe I’m well qualified to write about my experiences with orientation 2014 as part of the class of 2018.
A 50-lb, 39x80-inch, navy blue rectangle is currently giving shape to the bulky conversations about rape that have been spreading across college campuses in recent years. It feels too obvious and literal to discuss “Carry that Weight/Mattress Performance” in terms of dimensions, gravity or language associated with bedding. It feels simplistic to simply celebrate the work in an op-ed, but its importance is tangible in the sense that it is actually tangible.
