{"id":913,"date":"2011-12-05T10:28:29","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T15:28:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/?p=913"},"modified":"2011-12-06T14:51:29","modified_gmt":"2011-12-06T19:51:29","slug":"the-welcome-weekend-woes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/2011\/12\/05\/the-welcome-weekend-woes\/","title":{"rendered":"“The Welcome Weekend” Woes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Trinity\u2019s campus suffers from many problems regarding race and social class, one of which is the fact that the minority students feel isolated from the every day activities on campus. The P.R.I.D.E. program at Trinity \u201cis a program organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs aimed at supporting students from diverse backgrounds and encouraging interaction among all first year students at Trinity College\u201d P.R.I.D.E. offers a \u201cthree day pre-orientation program, called \u201cThe Welcome Weekend\u201d, that helps international students and students of color become acquainted with Trinity\u2019s physical and social atmosphere.\u201d \u201cThe Welcome Weekend\u201d[1]<\/a> helps create a social atmosphere amongst the first year students that from the beginning of school separates the students of color from the White students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Welcome Weekend\u201d sponsored by P.R.I.D.E. is sought to do good for the incoming students at Trinity College, but in fact has caused a separation among racial minority and white students. P.R.I.D.E. is not the problem driving racial separation on campus, but rather the lack integration amongst students that is caused by \u201cThe Welcome Weekend.\u201d The pre-orientation program helps facilitate racial division on campus. P.R.I.D.E. students have already made friends within the first three days of their pre-orientation program, similarly to how football players make friends with kids on the football team before the rest of the freshman class arrives. This gives these students a sense of community and comfort that they do not wish to break as the majority of students enter campus. The difference between \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d and the football team\u2019s preseason is that there are both racial minorities and racial majority players on the football team compared to \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d that highly recommends racial minorities to participate. \u00a0Arriving to campus early, unfortunately, creates a divide amongst students that already have made friends and students that have not had the chance to make friends yet.<\/p>\n

Imagine that you are an incoming freshman student at Trinity. In this scenario, you are part of the _________ group on campus. This particular group asks you to arrive on campus before the rest of the incoming freshman. Without having the chance to meet anyone outside of the group, you begin to form friendships in this _______ group. You start doing everything with the other members of the group. You participate in the same activities as them. You eat all your meals in Mather with them. You hang out with them during the night etc. Once all your all-fellow students arrive on campus you continue to hang out with the group of friends that you have already made because you are now comfortable with them.\u00a0 In the scenario we described above, can you tell if we are talking about the football team or the racial minority students that participated in \u201cThe Welcome Weekend?\u201d The reason that all programs, who ask students to come to school early are not being questioned is, that unlike the \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d, no other program only allows \u201cinternational students and students of color\u201d[2]<\/a> to participate.<\/p>\n

When Trinity sophomore students were interviewed about how race and social class affected them on the Trinity campus the P.R.I.D.E. program was brought up and specifically the \u201cWelcome Weekend.\u201d Mary, who is a racial minority on financial aid on campus, spoke about \u201c The Welcome Weekend\u201d and said \u201cA feeling that I got from them (Welcome Weekend Leaders) was like be aware of the wealthier students, the wealthier white students they will treat you, it’s like there a difference between you guys.\u201d Mary goes on to say, \u201cWe were like set up to hang out with one another (Other minority students) instead of embracing the maturity and like promoting respect, right. And of different um-different cultures, did not necessarily happen because we stuck with the minorities rather then mixing or, like getting to know other students from Trinity, or having a full on orientation.\u201d[3]<\/a> Mary\u2019s comments about the pre-orientation program reflect the exact scenario described above. Mary\u2019s comments are saying that the program ended up making her feel more different from the norm on campus. Mary ends her statements on \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d with saying \u201cInitially I hung out with minorities because I was too timid to approach anyone else that hadn’t participated in P.R.I.D.E.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

In order to find a plausible solution to this problem of racial division on Trinity\u2019s campus it is necessary to look at other similar institution\u2019s orientation programs. \u00a0Amherst, a racially diverse NESCAC school, is completely doing away with its pre-orientation program. There solution might be drastic, but the president of Amherst feels that as freshman the school should \u201cstand first for integration and secondarily for the special adjustments required by ethnicity, race, religion, nationality, or other aspects of identity[5]<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0Amherst\u2019s ideal situation with their pre-orientation might be a little extreme, but the problems arising at Trinity College throughout the years must be solved. Amherst\u2019s solution is not the answer to the P.R.I.D.E. program, but it shows that there are barriers, in dealing with race, that we must work on overcoming [6]<\/a> and the solution that Trinity is using is not working to integrate these students. Amherst has not had any notable racial issues, since they did away with a racial pre-orientation program; whereas, Trinity College has experienced multiple racial issues with the \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d the way it is. In fact, similar to Amherst, Trinity cancelled\u00a0 \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d for the class of 2015, due to a hurricane this year and hasn\u2019t had a notable racial problem thus far.<\/p>\n

The dean of Yale, Mr. Brodhead, says that if “Any program powerful enough in one week to alter the way people think about things would have to be one hell of a good program.[7]<\/a>” This sarcastic claim proves that all the statements made by the people in P.R.I.D.E. who wish to integrate students who are minorities coming into Trinity College can be refuted. One week, let alone three days, cannot change the way students perceive new surroundings.<\/p>\n

P.R.I.D.E. is not a program that can be removed from the Trinity College campus, it does a lot of good to be removed, but it is something that can definitely be altered to do more good. \u00a0We feel that \u201cThe Welcome Weekend\u201d should be removed from the program.\u00a0 It is something that is causing racial separation as said by the Amherst president.\u00a0 Incoming freshman need to interact with all of the students, it is what makes the college experience. Students should not be grouped with a small group of students during P.R.I.D.E., and never interact past that group because they feel so comfortable in it. If P.R.I.D.E. allows freshman orientation to play out and students to interact with peers of all races, and then they can incorporate their programs into the student\u2019s life. \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d can be replaced with meetings or gathering once or twice a week, and make them optional, yet highly recommended. With meetings during the week, this would allow for the P.R.I.D.E. program not to have to compete with the immensely popular \u00a0fraternity life.\u00a0 P.R.I.D.E. should encourage a student in their program to bring a friend, not from the program, to the meetings. This would allow for a chain of new students interacting with one another not just during the first 3 days of school but rather throughout the whole year. This gives students a chance to integrate themselves, by brining friends from outside the P.R.I.D.E. program, and encouraging them to interact with one another. If P.R.I.D.E. could manage to keep their program meetings interesting, even the idea of food outside of Mather Hall would get students of all races to the meetings.<\/p>\n

The P.R.I.D.E. program as it is right now remains a mystery to the majority of the Trinity campus. Students know so much about events like 80\u2019s night, a popular dance ay Trinity College, but really don\u2019t know much about P.R.I.D.E.\u00a0 Removing \u201cThe Welcome Weekend\u201d from P.R.I.D.E. will help students who aren\u2019t racial minorities know that they are allowed to join. \u201cWelcome Weekend\u201d in a way has become an initiation to P.R.I.D.E. that white students don\u2019t know they can join after the weekend is over. We feel that if students can interact with people on their own, the program will thrive mightily as the year goes on. People from all different races can come to meetings because their friends are members of P.R.I.D.E. and tell them what it truly stands for.<\/p>\n

The P.R.I.D.E. program is not a problem regarding race or social class at Trinity\u2019s campus. It is our belief that \u201cThe Welcome Weekend is. By removing the welcome weekend and making slight changes to the P.R.I.D.E. program will dramatically help with racial issues that the Trinity campus has.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> P.R.I.D.E. Official Newsletter. Brandon Lewis.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> P.R.I.D.E. Official Newsletter. Brandon Lewis.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Interview Transcripts<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Interview Transcripts<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Gose, Ben. \u201cDo Minority Orientations Encourage Segregation?\u201d The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>, September 4, 1998, sec. Students. http:\/\/chronicle.com\/article\/Do-Minority-Orientations\/2236\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Bartlett, Tom, and Karin Fischer. \u201cDiversity Programs and Social Norms.\u201d The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>, January 19, 2007, sec. Letters to the Editor. http:\/\/chronicle.com\/article\/Diversity-ProgramsSocial\/1867\/.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Gose, Ben. \u201cDo Minority Orientations Encourage Segregation?\u201d The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>, September 4, 1998, sec. Students. http:\/\/chronicle.com\/article\/Do-Minority-Orientations\/2236\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The Goal (Source: Trinity Tripod, 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pride Welcome Letter (Source: Trinity College, 2011)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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About the Authors:<\/div>\n
\u00a0Jack Kidd and Sean Meekins are first year students at Trinity College and are currently enrolled in the First Year Seminar Color and Money taught by Jack Dougherty.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Trinity\u2019s campus suffers from many problems regarding race and social class, one of which is the fact that the minority students feel isolated from the every day activities on campus. The P.R.I.D.E. program at Trinity \u201cis a program organized by the Office of Multicultural Affairs aimed at supporting students from diverse backgrounds and encouraging interaction … Continue reading “The Welcome Weekend” Woes<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=913"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1086,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/913\/revisions\/1086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/colorandmoney\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}