<p>I do think the title of the article was misleading and unnecessarily provocative. This is probably just ONE of many optional pre-orientation programs (at my kids’ schools there were many of these - for community service, camping, exploring the city etc.) ,it’s certainly not the freshman orientation itself. The program seems to be set up along the lines of common therapeutic practice - get groups involved in talking, at first separately but then bring them together (in this case on multiple occasions). The facilitators are people specifically trained in diversity issues and the students are likewise interested in the subject -in that context it sounds like an interesting and valuable program to me.</p>
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It might be a valuable program in another context, but not in separating out people before they even get to school.</p>
<p>The analogy to psychiatric therapy is rather disturbing because it presumes that one (or more) groups of students is disfunctional and “needs help” from other groups before they even get to college. The rhetoric is fairly clear that it is the white students perceived as needing help to stop their “white privledge” and “oppression”. Yet, I’ve never heard of white students calling for racial theme housing and so forth.</p>
<p>^^^ I didn’t mean to suggest that the students were on the receiving end of any kind of psychological help and don’t see the structure of this program as suggesting dysfunction at all, rather it’s an exercise in communication. These are students who want to be part of a dialog, the kind of kids who can potentially share what they learn with others and make a difference going ahead during the four years in college.</p>
<p>Why can’t they be part of a dialog after they have moved in all at the same time, become acquainted, and started off on equal footing?</p>
<p>that’s a good suggestion, zoosermon. perhaps it will happen. the school seems to be trying it’s best.</p>
<p>All I would want as a parent of any child would be for that child to be welcomed by her college on exactly the same footing as every other student. If the college (any college) can’t do that, then I wouldn’t want my kid to attend. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.</p>
<p>Should MHC be reading this, I’d like to ask: if a student is good enough to be admitted to your school, why isn’t she good enough to be truly welcomed into your community?</p>
<p>" … rather it’s an exercise in communication …"</p>
<p>This, of course, can be used to justify almost anything, regardless of whether or not it is appropriate.</p>
<p>" … I didn’t mean to suggest that the students were on the receiving end of any kind of psychological help …"</p>
<p>Anyone who has been through “diversity training” knows that this is often the implication.</p>
<p>While the name and perhaps even the premise may be misguided or plain detrimental to race relations, I want to clarify that pre-orientation sessions like this one are mini-courses that the incoming students select. No one is forced or even encouraged to take it. For example, at neighboring Smith, the first years could choose yoga or collegiate leadership or community outreach or poetry or, yes, multicultural issues, among others. This is not a pre-orientation for “white students” but rather a mini course.</p>
<p>I get what you’re saying, but if some students are not permitted to take the mini-courses while the people who are get to move in early, you’re creating unfairness and separation from the get-go.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for the situation at MHC, but at Smith, everyone is allowed to take the mini-courses.</p>
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<p>I don’t object to the objections, because we’re all entitled to our points of view. I’m just wondering why so much hostility is being directed toward one school and one program, when it might be more productive to just start a thread in the Politics forum and let people discuss the issues.</p>
<p>But maybe not: Reading this thread has made me decide to increase my annual gift to the Mount Holyoke Alumnae Fund. :)</p>
<p>This school is receiving the response because this school is the subject of the thread.</p>
<p>So you’re ok with making one group of 18-year-old women feel less welcome at the beginning of their college career based on their race?</p>
<p>geezermom:</p>
<p>We aren’t aware of any other school offering a “whites only” orientation. If you know of one, I imagine that we’d all be more than happy to take a few whacks at that school, too! It’s the idea that is getting hammered, not the school.</p>
<p>The reality is that issues related to race relations do exist on college campuses. There are patterns of behavior (for example the comfort level of hanging out with those like oneself) that are set with some students (not all, of course) from the very start. Thinking back to when I was in college, the people that became some of my closest friends were those I met in those beginning days. Perhaps that is just one of the many issues that this program tries to address and perhaps they intentionally want to do so from the very start.
I know that at Ds school there were skits put on by students on this very subject for all the students to watch- just another approach. </p>
<p>Recently, I represented my alma mater at a college fair that was attended by an organization exclusively oriented towards minority students. The number one question I got was how well integrated into the community is the minority population. It’s a pressing and meaningful concern for these students because they know that there are schools where this is more or less the case. I have no idea what the case is at MH - perhaps they are on the cutting edge when it comes to diversity efforts that have made a difference. I think the hope is that this program will inspire the kids who participate ,not necessarily to change their own attitudes or behaviors, but to take leadership in this area - I imagine that the intent of this program is to give interested students the background, the tools and the full understanding in which to do so. </p>
<p>I think there’s a misconception here that anyone is trying to suggest that there is anything wrong with the individual students participating or that they will be criticized, or made to feel responsible for any wrongs on a personal level. To the contrary, these are all likely the very students who are likely trying to make a difference in the community as a whole.</p>
<p>Although this is somewhat unrelated, I do agree with the more general concern that it can be unfair when all students do not start out at the same time. Although she wanted to, D was not able to attend any of the pre-orientation programs at her school due to a conflict. What it meant was that her roommates got to the room first , leaving her with very little space - it was not a great or fair situation. But that has nothing to do with the specific programming - you could say the same thing about the advantage that the kids had who were there for any program. </p>
<p>But I agree with Momwaitingfornew - at both my kids’s schools there were a vast array of pre-orientation programs that were both open to all as well as optional - the percent of students attending each one was a small number and represented those who had particular interest in a topic. </p>
<p>This is not to say that I don’t understand the concern that some of you are expressing and I hear what you are saying- just not sure I agree. I’d certainly be interested to know more about the program and what it will involve.</p>
<p>“I think the hope is that this program will inspire the kids who participate, not necessarily to change their own attitudes or behaviors, but to take leadership in this area …”</p>
<p>Oh, I think that the idea of changing attitudes and behaviors is very much on the mind of folks who promote activities like these. That is the very purpose of such training. </p>
<p>And it is difficult for me to imagine that a White Student Orientation will lead students “to take leadership in this area.”</p>
<p>Momwaiting, at Smith, all students have the option of attending a pre-orientation program, but Smith offers special, targeted pre-orientation programs for international and urm students. Incoming first-years may select any of the pre-orientation program except for the two targeted, special programs and pre-season varsity team practice; the special pre-orientation sessions and team practice ALL start earlier than the others. </p>
<p>I understand the disadvantage of being the last to arrive, only to find that one’s roommate has taken the better bed/space and is well on their way to establishing friendship networks. But I believe that early arrival for int’l students and athetes has been standard practice for decades - - and the late arriving roommate is no less inconvenienced or left out b/c her roommate attended the urm pre-orientation as opposed to the int’l pre-orientation or a team’s pre-season practice.</p>
<p>Addtional info on the structure of the orientation, with, it seems, mention of this thread:</p>
<p>[News:</a> Orientation for Whites - Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/13/holyoke]News:”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/13/holyoke)</p>
<p>once agan, to distinguish Smith’s program from Mt. Holyoke’s, Smith’s diversity pre-orientations, like all their other pre-orientation programs, is open to students of all races.</p>
<p>The Bridge program, designed originally for URMs, “now welcomes students of all racial backgrounds who demonstrate a commitment to creating and maintaining culturally inclusive communities.” <a href=“http://www.smith.edu/oma/bridge.php[/url]”>http://www.smith.edu/oma/bridge.php</a></p>
<p>And the “Cultural Connections” program is described as:</p>
<p>"a diverse learning community to develop some of the key skills and competencies to create a truly multicultural and inclusive community at Smith. Working with trained leaders and upper-class students you will have the chance to develop deeper connections with other new students and with yourself as you:</p>
<pre><code>* Develop a deeper understanding of the breadth of differences at Smith and how prejudice and misunderstanding can create barriers to acceptance and community
- Participate in authentic dialogue across differences and increase both your comfort and skill at discussing the diversity dynamics of race, sex, gender identity, class, sexual orientation, religion/spirituality, ableness/disability, age, nationality, etc.
- Gain a deeper commitment to being an active leader in creating respectful, inclusive communities at Smith."
</code></pre>
<p>[Smith</a> College: For First-Year Students](<a href=“http://www.smith.edu/sao/firstyear/registration.php]Smith”>http://www.smith.edu/sao/firstyear/registration.php)</p>
<p>This is a quotation from the “comments” section of the link cited above. I could not have said it any better myself:</p>
<p>“Another boondoggle (in this economy, no less) to perpetuate the diversity bureaucracy and ensure that students balkanize into their victomology-oriented “identity groups” from day one. This is the antithesis of a fine liberal arts education. I much prefer Heather MacDonald’s recent suggestion for college presidents. She recommended they issue a statement to students to this effect: “We recognize you as young people forged from a common humanity. We hope to cultivate in you humility regarding the limits of your knowledge, a passion to overcome those limits, and a deep gratitude for the landmarks of human thought that it will be your privilege to study for the next four years. We are dismantling the college’s multicultural, identity-based services because you don’t need them. Find yourselves by engaging with beauty, intellectual complexity, and each other.”</p>