Ben Gose, “Do Minority Orientations Encourage Segregation?,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 4, 1998, sec. Students, http://chronicle.com/article/Do-Minority-Orientations/2236/.
This article addresses the issue of whether or not minority orientations are important on college campuses. Although the article was written in 1998, it is still a very important issue on many campuses. Further, it is interesting to note the negative sides to minority orientations as many campuses have already decided to stop these programs.
Peter Schmidt, “From ‘Minority’ to ‘Diversity’,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 3, 2006, Volume 52, Issue 22 edition, sec. Archives : Government & Politics.
This article was written by an author we are familiar with already, Peter Schmidt. The article discusses the issue of college programs for minority students only. By isolating minority students in certain programs, the idea of diversity is being lost. Specific colleges are discussed that have opened effective programs to all races without discriminating on minority students.
Christopher Shea, “Orientation at Penn,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 15, 1993, sec. Archives, http://chronicle.com/article/Orientation-at-Penn/92558/.
This article, although from the year 1993, addresses issues still contemporary and prevalent to 2011. The issue of racism on campus between white and black students at the University of Pennsylvania is the main focus of the article. It explains that the University dealt with these issues by performing skits for the younger students during orientation week.
Eric Hoover, “Keeping Sophomores in College,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 20, 2006, Volume 53, Issue 9 edition, sec. Letters to the Editor : The Chronicle Review.
This article, found in The Chronicle of Higher Education, addresses sophomore year retention rates, and ways in which orientation programs for sophomores can be implemented in order to be effective.
The problem we are facing on campus at Trinity College is the issue of race and social class cliques. Most students tend to stick to a group of friends that they feel the most comfortable with, which is commonly fellow students of the same race or social class. Further, the varying perspectives of diversity on campus makes it difficult to combat the issue. Many white students feel as thought being at Trinity has exposed them to more diversity then they have ever seen, while students of color feel as though they are the obvious minorities on campus. It is essential at a Liberal Arts college for students to be exposed to new things and be open to change. Currently at Trinity, because of the cliques, students are not fulfilling their college experience. Since students are mostly interacting with those similar to themselves, they are not learning about new cultures, places, or new experiences.
In order to resolve the issue of cliques on campus, we propose to revamp the first year orientation program, and to implement an innovative, effective second year orientation program to further integrate each student into the college community after their “new” label has worn off. In this orientation program, students will interact with peers outside their primary group of friends. The anticipated effect of this new program will be an increased sense of unity amongst the members of the class after the members have had a year to settle in and find their comfort zones. These comfort zones will be pushed and expanded further in order to enhance the liberal arts college experience. Additionally, having recently gone through the first year orientation, we have clear perspectives on what works and what doesn’t within the first week of school, and can therefore suggest new ideas in order to improve the activities.
Lucy and Christy, your revised proposal delves further into racial and social class divisions on campus, recognizes why students may have different perspectives on diversity, and offers some intriguing ideas for the sophomore year. As you write your draft, consider the following issues:
1) Clarify exactly what you believe needs to be done in the first-year versus the second-year, and whether “orientation” is the best word to describe your ideas for the latter.
2) Tell us how your ideas will be implemented. The current version uses passive verbs: “In this orientation program, students will interact with peers outside their primary group of friends.” Deal with the hard questions, such as whether this is program is purely voluntary, mandatory (like a “diversity requirement” for general education), or something in between. For example, Trinity sometimes has offered incentives, such as higher-grade housing, to groups of students with a theme or program to offer for the campus community. But others criticize student-run programs for having little continuity from year to year.
3) Consider taking a stand on President Jones’ white paper, and whether his ideas meet your approval or miss the mark.
You clearly are searching for sources in the Chronicle of Higher Education, but you may need to look further for ways that other campuses are addressing diversity requirements and similar efforts.