Author: Lucy Robins

After completing a semester at Trinity College, I have gained a new type of knowledge regarding college life.  This has allowed me to better understand the atmosphere on college campuses, which is helpful when giving advice regarding how to better improve your college education.  Andrew Robert’s book, The Thinking Student’s Guide to College, addresses key pieces of advice that are helpful for college students.  This advice ranges from tips on how to choose your college, all the way to being successful at college.  Robert’s most valuable piece of advice is found on page 95: “Manage your time.”  He highlights the importance of setting aside at least a couple hours each day dedicated to studying in a location with minimal distractions.  This tip is crucial in order to get the most out of your education.  If you manage your time well, you will have a greater amount of success in the classrooms and will find yourself with more time on your hands.   This tip is particularly important for freshman to keep in mind because for the most part it is their first time really being away from home.  With this new independence, it is completely up to the students to decide when they should complete their work, as they have no one making sure that it is completed.  Further, college professors tend to be less understanding of excuses and if something is incomplete they will penalize you based on this.

Specifically for me, coming to college was a big step in terms of independence.  Within the first few months of being here I had to figure out what worked and what didn’t and what the best way was to ensure all my work was complete.  I am also on the ice hockey team, so I had one more thing I needed to keep in mind when managing my time.  I found study hall, a set period of time where as a team you are forced to do work, to be extremely helpful and allowed me to get into a routine.  No matter what it is, students need to decide what works for them and from there, use these strategies to ensure that their schoolwork is done and that it is their first priority.

Although Robert’s tips found on page 113, “Be Curious about the Subject,” and on page 115, “Visit All Professors during Office Hours at Least Once,” are strong suggestions, I would change these tips to include to importance of attending extra-help sessions and completing extra-credit assignments.  These tips not only have direct benefits on getting a better education, but also have indirect benefits.  Directly, going to extra help sessions will broaden your understanding of the course material and allow you to understand the topics better.  Also, completing extra-credit assignments are always worthwhile as they directly increase your mark in the class.  Indirectly, these tips show your professors you are interested in their class and care about succeeding.  Although this does not guarantee you a better grade, teachers like to see that you want to be in their class and will keep this in consideration when they are interacting with you and grading your work.  Working with these benefits it is clear that these tips will better your overall college education, and for the amount of effort you need to put into these tips, it is clearly worth completing.  These tips are particularly useful at Trinity College because of the small campus size.  Since teachers do not have an overwhelming amount of students, they are more likely to host extra-help sessions and offer extra-credit assignments.  Students at Trinity are also given a unique opportunity to get to know their teachers on a more personal level. These tips allow students to do that, while still improving their marks, and demonstrating a high level of interest in the subject matter.

This semester I was in a Biodiversity class, where I felt these tips were particularly important and I wish I had been advised of them before the semester started.  In the course, we had a quiz every Monday on the week’s material.  Our teacher always mentioned that she was available for extra help sessions, but I never thought anything of this until my friend starting attending.  My professor e-mailed my friend, who had not been doing well on the quizzes, to request to start meeting with her for extra help.  Immediately after she started attending these meetings her quiz marks increased dramatically.  Once I saw this happening I started going in as well and I was surprised with the same results.  It is not fair to say that just because we showed up for extra help, she started marking us easier, but that, combined with having a greater knowledge of the quiz material, were both factors that contributed to the increasing grades and overall better education within the course.

After reading Robert’s book and actually experiencing a full semester at college, it is evident that all students should be given some advice before coming to college.  Although Robert’s advice is strong, I believe that, while some advice can be generic, the most valuable tips you can receive are those specific to the college you are attending.  This is because different advice is more relevant on some campuses then it is on others, as schools vary so greatly in size, education, and campus life.  Specifically, at Trinity College, seeking extra help and completing extra credit assignments are both valuable pieces of advice.  Using this advice, students have the ability to better their college education, which will help them in many perspectives, way beyond just their college experience.

Currently, Trinity College is facing a serious issue regarding race and social class cliques on campus.  Most students tend to stick to groups of friends they feel the most comfortable with, which is commonly fellow students of the same race or social class.  This causes segregation amongst students and defeats the overall goal of a diverse campus.  When students are predominantly interacting with those similar to themselves, they are not learning about new cultures, places, or experiences.  In a survey that interviewed a random group of sophomores at Trinity College, 5/15 students mentioned that either race or social class has played a direct role in the way they interact with friends on campus.  While this number may not appear extremely high, it should be as close to zero as possible.  In order to have an open environment on campus, no students should have to feel as if race or social class will determine their social life.

At a Liberal Arts college it is essential for students to be exposed to unfamiliar aspects of life and open to change.  Specifically, Trinity’s mission is to “foster critical thinking, free the mind of parochialism and prejudice, and prepare students to lead examined lives that are personally satisfying, civically responsible, and socially useful.” Currently at Trinity, because of the cliques, students are not fulfilling their college experience. It is nearly impossible for students to accomplish this mission statement when they are rarely exposed to diversity within their respective social groups.  Students must be encouraged to be pushed outside of their comfort zone instead of frequently making decisions that make them feel most comfortable.  Further, the varying perspectives of diversity on campus make it difficult to combat the issue.  Many white students feel as though 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.  Marshall, a white sophomore at Trinity, states that his home state “is a state where it is over 95% white and before coming to trinity I can honestly say that besides for traveling I had never actually lived in a setting with not only different ethnicities, but also different religions.” [1. Marshall, 22.] From this quote it is clear that Marshall was exposed to more diversity then ever before when he came to Trinity. Marshall is not the only student of his type on campus and it is essential that students like this come to Trinity with an open mind instead of arriving on campus expecting to solely interact with students similar to themselves.  Although there are many different ways one could attempt to combat this obstacle, it is critical that students are exposed to diversity and forced to interact with new students as soon as they arrive on campus, before they have been given a chance to form any cliques.

Trinity College’s Campus Climate Report, released in 2007, brought up many pressing issues on campus that remain prevalent on campus today.  This report set goals that Trinity should focus on achieving and recommendations in order to reach these aspirations.  Overall, the goals were well thought through and were crucial for racial and social class diversity development on campus.  Specifically, goal number two, which states “We need greater economic, racial and ethnic diversity in our student body, faculty and staff,” [2. Cheryl Greenberg, Philip Khoury, “Final Report of the Charter Committee on Campus Climate,” (diss. Trinity College, 2007), 11.] and goal number four, which states “We need a residential and social life for students, faculty, and staff that fosters a stronger sense of community and mutual responsibility, as well as one that encourages an open-minded embrace of diverse opinions and styles,” [3. Cheryl Greenberg, Philip Khoury, “Final Report of the Charter Committee on Campus Climate,” (diss. Trinity College, 2007), 16.] are important goals to strive for in order to eliminate cliques on campus.  These goals discuss featuring more diversity on campus and the importance of individual roles on campus.  Although the recommendations provided are strong and have potential to help improve the problems, they barely address the issue of changing the orientation program.  We do agree with the goals and recommendations brought up in the Campus Climate Report, but we feel as though the most important recommendation, to change our orientation program, was not addressed enough in the report.  Recommendation “F” under goal four states that the College must, “Provide adequate funding to extend orientation programming into the academic year.  Consider a sophomore orientation, geared toward community building and fostering connection with the Hartford Area.” Despite the fact that this recommendation does address the orientation programs, the recommendation itself is located close to the bottom of the list, indicating that it is not an issue of top priority. Therefore, we believe it is not considered as critical to life at Trinity as it should be.

With determination to resolve the issue of cliques on campus founded on the basis of common characteristics such as race and social class, we propose to refurbish Trinity’s First Year orientation schedule, and to implement an effective, innovative “further integration” program for students entering their sophomore year.  After the students have become acclimated to their environment at Trinity College over the previous academic year, their “new” label has worn off and they tend to remain comfortably settled into their established social group.  As previously discussed, these cliques generally consist of members who share the same race and/or social class, and this is detrimental to the quality of the of their liberal arts education.  In order to experience what Trinity has to offer to its full potential, students would immensely benefit from a revised first year orientation program accompanied by a second year integration program designed to expand the borders of their social comfort zones.

Upon arrival at Trinity College, students usually experience a sense of timidity, yet prominent eagerness to socialize with their new peers.  Coming to Trinity as an International student, one of us (Lucy) was forced to go through International Orientation, an early orientation program geared towards students of origin outside the US.  While it was helpful to arrive on campus early, the orientation required incoming freshmen to get to know fellow international students.  Because not many other students were on campus during these few days, this was the only group of students available for socialization.  These students, more then anyone, tend to gravitate towards other students who are culturally similar or geographically close to themselves because international students are already so far away from their home, families, and other aspects of familiarity.  This causes cliques to be formed prior to the arrival of other students on campus.  Although an early orientation program for international students proves to be helpful in many regards, combining it with the regular first year orientation schedule may eliminate the initial issue of cliques on campus prior to the start of classes.

Additionally, having recently experienced the nerve-wracking transition to college, we can accurately attest the necessity for an effective welcome program.  It would be helpful to incorporate a greater quantity of sophomore students into the running of the First Year Orientation activities.  Had there been more students running this schedule, it would have been further organized and well put together.  Also, having extra sophomores available on campus during the first few days of orientation, the incoming freshman class would benefit from the additional people they can turn to with questions and concerns.  Participation in the facilitation of the First Year Orientation schedule should be voluntary, but students should be offered an incentive such as higher quality housing for their junior year in order to encourage their willingness to help.  Clearly, the Residential Assistants worked very hard to incorporate everyone into icebreaker exercises, but running a first year orientation is a daunting task that requires the participation of more students who can provide a fresh outlook regarding the experience of freshman year at Trinity College.

The most critical aspect of our proposal is the sophomore year integration program.  We believe it should be referred to as an integration program as opposed to an orientation program because the word “orientation” denotes a sense of unfamiliarity with the campus.  Clearly, the incoming sophomores do not need to be directed through the practices of a new, unfamiliar educational institution.  However, they do need to be further integrated into the campus community, constantly challenging their preconceived notions and broadening their horizons while leaving their comfort zones.  The very purpose of a Liberal Arts education is to constantly question, explore, and discover new aspects of life.  In exploring the way other colleges address the issue of encouraging students to maintain an open mind throughout their education and into their adult lives, we found through a Chronicle of Higher Education article that the University of Pennsylvania showed their incoming freshman skits designed to dramatize the conflict between black and white students that plagued the campus during the previous semester.  We believe that Trinity’s sophomore students, as part of their mandatory integration program, would benefit from skits similar to the ones performed for the University of Pennsylvania freshmen.  Additionally, these skits depicted “the side of college life you don’t get on the guided campus tour: date rape, safe sex, and, especially, the friction associated with growing racial and ethnic diversity.” [4. Christopher Shea, “Orientation at Penn,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 15, 1993, sec. Archives, http://chronicle.com/article/Orientation-at-Penn/92558/.] We believe that after completing one year of college, these issues will motivate the students to become vocal about their opinions, and inspire them to think about race and other issues in a new way.

In addition to the viewing of the skits, we propose that the students should be separated into randomly selected groups in which they participate in enjoyable activities such as problem solving exercises or even relay races.  The main goal of this new program is to facilitate the interaction and socialization of students who would not normally establish friendships.  These activities should be run by upperclassmen, also offered an incentive for participation.  We argue that this program should be mandatory for all incoming sophomores because the concept of voluntary participation implies that willingness for open-mindedness is also an option here at Trinity College.  When paired with the increasingly organized First Year Orientation, we argue that a sophomore year integration program will enhance not only the unity amongst the sophomore class, but also the experience of a Liberal Arts education.

After examining campus reports at Trinity, talking to Trinity sophomores and exploring orientation programs both at Trinity and at other campuses, it is clear that Trinity must refurbish their orientation program in to order to achieve their goal of a diverse and open-minded student body.  This resolution is the key to resolving race and social class cliques on campus, which are not allowing students to fulfill their liberal arts experience.  By expanding the orientation program into sophomore year, students get the opportunity to interact with fellow classmates they may not know and further understand the importance of a clique-free environment.    It is essential that this recommendation be implemented as soon as possible as the issue of cliques on campus is a fundamental problem to the overall goal of a diverse student body.

About the Authors: Lucy Robinson, from Toronto, Canada, and Christy Boyle from  Longmeadow, MA, are both students at Trinity College in the class of 2015 within the first year seminar “Color and Money.”

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.

Problem:

The topic I want to talk about for this paper is the issue of race and social class clique’s on campus.  Through our previous investigations and observations on campus, students tend to hang out with students within the same race and/or social class as themselves on campus.  It is important for college students to become more exposed to diversity.  The problem at Trinity is that students who come to college to become more diverse are not necessarily getting this experience as the campus generally lacks diversity, especially compared to other colleges.

Solution:

One solution to this problem on Campus would be the creation of a social centre.  Currently, Trinity lacks a centre where all students can go to socialize without feeling pressured to do anything.  It is important for a college campus to have a facility like this that’s main focus is to encourage socialization, without being in a cafeteria, coffee shop, or library.  Further, using a name like the “social centre” creates an open environment that all students would feel welcomed in.  The issue with this solution would be a large cost.

More information:

In order to further strengthen this paper I believe I need to find more examples from other colleges about how diversity has been a factor on campus.  Also, it would be interesting to find exact statistics regarding Trinity’s diversity compared to other colleges, because I know it is significantly low.   From here, it would be interesting to draw connections about the benefits of being exposed to large amounts of diversity.  This could also be related to Stuber, as she believes social class greatly influences a student’s social life at college.  Further, finding out the exact statistics on how many of the Trinity sophomores felt race and social class played a role within whom they interacted with on campus would also be a good comparison.

I would like to work with Christy on this paper as I feel we collaborate as a team very well and we are interested in discussing the same issue on campus.  I feel working in a partnership would strengthen our paper as we will be able to find more examples and think of more solutions that come from more then one persons perspective.

[Note to Lucy: in the future, select some text, click on the “link” button, and paste your code to make it a link, like this. Jack D.] https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ai60uPLKQ6b0dDNwSHVINTNBbG5tN0VxTlhNejVUV1E&hl=en_US

To begin we moved the columns that we found least relevant, public/private school and class rank, to the right of the spreadsheet.  We found class ranking irrelevant because it varies extremely from school to school and many of the application didn’t even have a ranking.  While we still took the private and public schooling column into consideration we found other criteria that was more beneficial to our decision making process.  Next, we added two columns titled decision and ranking (out of 15).  From there, we closely reviewed each application while also comparing them to the entire applicant pool.  Once this was completed we were able to make our decisions and give the students a ranking out of 15 in the most beneficial way possible for the college.

Here’s the link:

After reviewing Jazmine Hope-Martin’s application it is obvious that she is the type of student we want at Trinity.  She had a strong interview at Trinity, where she demonstrated how mature, bright, and articulate she is.  She graduated high school with a GPA of 96.17 and marks all above 88%.  Further, she earned impressive scores on both her SAT and her ACT.  She is also quite athletic and could be an excellent addition to some of the athletic teams.  She was the captain of her high school cross-country team and crew team.  One noticeable weakness on her application was her AP French language exam.  She only scored a two, which was dramatically lower then all her other marks. Although she doesn’t have any alumni connections to Trinity, her other strengths will allow her to thrive at this school.  After evaluating all fifteen applications, it is evident that Jazmine’s application is one of the strongest and for that reason she should be offered a spot of admission.