First impressions are everything. Each year, the orientation advisers are tasked with shaping the first impressions of hundreds of new Georgetown students.
“An OA is one of the first people freshmen meet,” OA Simone Dyson (MSB ‘10) said. “We facilitate discussions, do icebreakers, and go on field trips, all in high-energy fashion.”
OAs are friendly and approachable, but it seems they can only be so on certain university approved topics. When alcohol is brought up, their openness wanes, and discussion is limited to what Georgetown wants the freshmen to hear.
“We describe the alcohol policy,” Dyson said. She said that talking to freshmen about underage drinking is strictly forbidden.
These new students are not completely out of the loop, however.
“We do talk about SafeRides and other similar resources students can utilize,” Dyson said.
“OAs are given information about a variety of important topics as well as tips from returning staff about how to handle difficult questions,” Heather Maginnis, Director of NSO, said. “The goal is for OAs to be as honest and sincere as possible, providing helpful information to new students.”
When OAs are told to skirt the issues, this diminishes their trust with the freshmen and makes them less approachable and more intimidating. The questions are difficult to answer—it’s hard to find that fine line between talking about drinking and obeying Georgetown’s alcohol policy—but ignorance is not an acceptable response.
Despite NSO’s imperfections, the OAs generally do a good job with their main purpose: convey a love of Georgetown to the new students.
The University, in return, hasn’t been successful in giving OAs the tools to do their job, nor in giving students the knowledge they need to succeed in college.
The administration should allow for more discussion of alcohol. Student drinking is something many freshmen will know little about; providing a frank discussion of the issue is critical to the well-being of Georgetown’s newest students.
