January Admits of 2009 arrive on campus
by Robin Caskey | Llama Ledger Staff
Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: News
True to form, Simon's Rock welcomed a small January Admit class this semester. Seven students arrived on Friday, Jan. 16 for an abbreviated orientation program.
The size of the JA class, which is drastically smaller than last year's class of 15, is no surprise given last semester's large freshman class and the limited number of spaces available in campus housing.
This year's class has five girls and two boys. The gender ratio was unplanned, according to Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs Leslie Davidson.
Of last fall's original incoming class of 178 students, only 31 percent were male--a figure that is not changed by this year's JAs.
"Out of 24 applicants, we admitted eight and wait listed three more," Davidson said, adding that the original pool of admitted students was more gender balanced.
"The original group...included four males and four females," she said. However, after a few students decided against attending this spring semester, the College admitted students off the wait list, and, as Davidson put it, "We ended up with a class of seven that includes two males and five females."
Despite its size, the JA class is impressively varied, said Davidson. "The JAs represent real diversity in geographic and ethnic backgrounds, educational experiences, personalities, and interests."
In keeping with the College's mission of a diverse campus, 29 percent of the JAs are "students of color" (30 percent of the freshman class last semester were minority students), and "hail from New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and California," according to Davidson.
Not to be out-shined by previous classes, notorious for their wide range of experiences and interests, these seven students "have attended summer programs such as CTY, Yale Explorations, and Careers for Women in Engineering at the University of Texas-Austin," said Davidson.
They include "a home schooler and a few students who have already taken college-level classes. Their interests include clothing and costume design, languages, journalism, science and engineering, music, travel, and sports," Davidson said.
Indeed, during their orientation activities this past weekend, the students made quite an impression on the Student Life staff.
"They all seem really cool," Peer Advocate Julia Gardner said. She and about half of the other PAs were present to welcome the JAs, guiding them through an abbreviated registration and orientation program. Parents had a chance to talk with Associate Dean of Student Affairs Bob Graves and Dean of New Students Rebecca Fiske, while the latter also presided over a mini-Workshop for the JAs.
It seems, however, that over the weekend academics weren't at the forefront of the new students' minds, who instead were looking forward to socializing and bonding with their new classmates.
Gardner said their small numbers didn't seem to faze them, saying instead that "they seemed excited to make their own club."
While the JAs seemed not to need any help getting to know one another, the Student Life staff isn't taking any chances, according to Gardner.
Two former JAs and current PAs, Lillian Asaph and Kevin Volk, took it upon themselves to talk to the JAs about "how to make friends out of a small group," said Gardner.
In addition, a sort of mentor program has been established to make sure that every new JA has someone to talk to on campus.
While time will tell if the JAs will fully integrate themselves into the Simon's Rock community, Davidson, speaking on behalf of the Admissions department, is "pleased to have such a strong group of JAs and expect[s] that this small group will quickly establish a real presence on campus."
Contact the author: rcaskey@llamaledger.com
The size of the JA class, which is drastically smaller than last year's class of 15, is no surprise given last semester's large freshman class and the limited number of spaces available in campus housing.
This year's class has five girls and two boys. The gender ratio was unplanned, according to Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs Leslie Davidson.
Of last fall's original incoming class of 178 students, only 31 percent were male--a figure that is not changed by this year's JAs.
"Out of 24 applicants, we admitted eight and wait listed three more," Davidson said, adding that the original pool of admitted students was more gender balanced.
"The original group...included four males and four females," she said. However, after a few students decided against attending this spring semester, the College admitted students off the wait list, and, as Davidson put it, "We ended up with a class of seven that includes two males and five females."
Despite its size, the JA class is impressively varied, said Davidson. "The JAs represent real diversity in geographic and ethnic backgrounds, educational experiences, personalities, and interests."
In keeping with the College's mission of a diverse campus, 29 percent of the JAs are "students of color" (30 percent of the freshman class last semester were minority students), and "hail from New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, and California," according to Davidson.
Not to be out-shined by previous classes, notorious for their wide range of experiences and interests, these seven students "have attended summer programs such as CTY, Yale Explorations, and Careers for Women in Engineering at the University of Texas-Austin," said Davidson.
They include "a home schooler and a few students who have already taken college-level classes. Their interests include clothing and costume design, languages, journalism, science and engineering, music, travel, and sports," Davidson said.
Indeed, during their orientation activities this past weekend, the students made quite an impression on the Student Life staff.
"They all seem really cool," Peer Advocate Julia Gardner said. She and about half of the other PAs were present to welcome the JAs, guiding them through an abbreviated registration and orientation program. Parents had a chance to talk with Associate Dean of Student Affairs Bob Graves and Dean of New Students Rebecca Fiske, while the latter also presided over a mini-Workshop for the JAs.
It seems, however, that over the weekend academics weren't at the forefront of the new students' minds, who instead were looking forward to socializing and bonding with their new classmates.
Gardner said their small numbers didn't seem to faze them, saying instead that "they seemed excited to make their own club."
While the JAs seemed not to need any help getting to know one another, the Student Life staff isn't taking any chances, according to Gardner.
Two former JAs and current PAs, Lillian Asaph and Kevin Volk, took it upon themselves to talk to the JAs about "how to make friends out of a small group," said Gardner.
In addition, a sort of mentor program has been established to make sure that every new JA has someone to talk to on campus.
While time will tell if the JAs will fully integrate themselves into the Simon's Rock community, Davidson, speaking on behalf of the Admissions department, is "pleased to have such a strong group of JAs and expect[s] that this small group will quickly establish a real presence on campus."
Contact the author: rcaskey@llamaledger.com
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
-.-
posted 1/21/09 @ 3:25 PM EST
However informative this article may be, it seems to get across to the reader the idea that members of the JA class are "outsiders" of some sort. You speak of them as though they are not quite members of Simon's Rock, or just some people that are being brought onto campus as part of a social experiment of some sort. (Continued…)
old JA
posted 1/21/09 @ 4:27 PM EST
i agree with -.- on this one. they aren't to be gawked at. it's a new class, woo-hoo. there's one of those ever 6 months...and no offense to last year's JAs, but they didn't do the best job of it. (Continued…)
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