Meeting new people and making new friends is an important aspect of college, but how easy is it? Certainly one’s willingness to be social and meet new people is an important factor. However, shouldn’t the school take some responsibility as well? Schools are charged with the responsibility of helping freshmen and transfer students integrate into their new surroundings. A new student should be able to look to their school for guidance into life in college.
Classes are pivotal to making new connections and an excellent way Northeastern helps is with the First Year Experience (FYE) program. This program aims to, according to the website, ensure new students success in college through the FYE colloquium (FYE 109) and out of class events specifically targeted for first year students. So far in my own FYE class Justice Studies 109, we have participated in the peace fire event in which group discussions were held and the traversing of a labyrinth, a new experience for many of us. I had no idea what a labyrinth actually was until I set foot into one made from scratch, and five cans of spray paint according to the artist who made it. In this way, I noticed the school helps us bond even by means as arbitrary and unexpected as homemade labyrinths.
Recently our teacher gave us a tour of the Ronald Williams library where we received a detailed floor-by-floor summary of the resources available. Dull and repetitive as it was, I was later thankful to my teacher when the librarian reminded us that we’re paying for the facility in our tuition so why let it go to waste? At least now I know where the tutoring takes place. FYE 109 is an ambitious program aimed at helping students with developing skills needed to succeed but helps integrate new students as well.
A student’s comfort level in a new surrounding can certainly increase when the school helps. Another way I’ve noticed Northeastern lends a hand is with the Fall into Fun activities and events that were held on campus. Sept. 12 through Sept. 18 saw a wide array of different activities that included free barbeque, a viewing of “Terminator: Salvation” and playing Rock Band just to name a few highlights. The fall 2009 film series, “Focus on Mexico,” is a series of films based around Mexican culture with focuses on art and history. Northeastern recognizes its own diversity with these events by welcoming students to come out and watch some films about your culture’s history and meet other students too. I would rate this a success for Northeastern in its effort to acclimate new students to life on a diverse campus.
The FYE program is starting to bring Learning Center workshops to students from late September all the way into November. Topics covered will include successful attitudes, transferable skills and meeting challenges and succeeding. These are things that are necessary for incoming students to know.
Northeastern is paying close attention to the success of its students, obviously, but more importantly they are attempting to assist by many different and innovative ways. I am fairly pleased with my school’s efforts in making new students like myself feel comfortable in our new community.