This year’s Orientation Week will expand upon last year’s program and streamline the schedule of activities.
Two of last year’s sessions—"Campus Safety and Title IX" and "Building an Inclusive Campus Climate"—will be combined in a new session, "Duke it Out: Intersectionality in Action." The new session will emphasize preventing gender violence and racial micro-aggressions through discussions about how to deal with racial, gender, ethnic and socioeconomic differences.
Seniors Andres Camino and Jay Rathinavelu, co-chairs of the First-Year Advisory Counselor program, both said that Duke's global demographics demonstrate the importance of implementing "Duke it Out."
“We have first-years coming from all over the country and all over the world, so we feel it is necessary to be there to have those conversations with them as soon as they arrive on campus,” Camino said.
This year’s FAC program will also be condensed with only three rather than four FAC chats and three rather than five resident assistant floor meetings. These include topics such as dealing with academic resources, exploring the summer reading book "Just Mercy" by attorney Bryan Stevenson and discussing how to approach campus climate.
Jordan Hale, assistant dean and director of new student programs, explained that his primary goals for this year's orientation are promoting health and wellness. He said there are ample opportunities for students to meet one another in this year's O-Week and emphasized the importance of connecting with faculty.
“We’re going to do some more things to focus on community building,” Hale said.
Both Hale and Rathinavelu noted that the greatest challenge with organizing this year's schedule came from the overabundance of feedback received last year.
“It’s so much—it’s like planning your wedding every year,” Hale said.
Hale explained that beginning in January, his department begins to selectively implement feedback that either corresponds with the goals of the program or streamlines the process. Because of these suggestions, Orientation Week should be less hectic than in years past.
Examples of programs continuing this year due to positive feedback are "Target Night," when students are bussed to Target for last-minute supplies, a Duke University Improv show in Page Auditorium, a session at the Durham Performing Arts Center and the closing speaker in the Duke Chapel. This year's closing speaker session will be hosted by Reggie Love, Trinity '05 and former personal assistant to President Barack Obama.
Both Camino and Rathinavelu said they want this year’s FACs to be as conscientious as possible. The co-chairs noted that they are hopeful first-years will come away feeling like they have genuine friends and mentors whom they can depend on for guidance.
“As soon as you give someone a network of people who are there for them, you create so many opportunities for them and they’re able to get more out of Duke,” Camino said.
Rathinavelu said this year’s FAC-student interaction will be guided by several pillars—building community, embracing diversity, role-modeling and accountability, leadership and skill development, knowledge of Duke resources and positively representing Duke.
He added that he is satisfied with this year’s team of FACs, citing effective communication among members and the pursuit of a common goal as key reasons to be optimistic.
“This [week] is like the Super Bowl of our program—a time when everything comes together and we couldn’t be more excited," Rathinavelu said.
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