Proposal

~Zachary Horrocks~
As I rustle through my backpack I am suddenly aware that Im
making an uncomfortably loud sound. As if Im in a church service and
eating a large bowl of cereal; or crumpling a paper in the middle of a
quite part of a lecture. I realize Im in the daylight lounge and Im
definitely making too much noise. On one of my first days using the
lounge I remember a guy walked into the lounge like everyone else
with a backpack and raincoat. He scanned the room and chose a seat
at a table. I was confused for a second because everyone was starring
at this dude, heated stares. I didnt understand why everyone was so
fixated on this guy, I felt bad for him until I saw the reason for the
disturbance. In his hands he held not one but two bagels. You see
eating in the daylight lounge is simply not something that you should
do. Anyone, really, tell your friends, siblings, parents, pets. You just
dont eat in the daylight lounge, end of story, aside from that series of
event and most importantly. Ive noticed a somewhat disturbing notion
in that in some major parts of campus.
Students are forced into certain behaviors and stereotypes. While
on the other side of that equation, students who dont fit those
stereotypes or behaviors most always have a negative experience.

Negative Experiences
Zoes Bagels
~Zoes Bagels, dont expect a quite place~
As you weave your way to a table youre bound to hit two people
and stub your toes on three tables, give or take. This is due to the
possibly strategic layout of seating in Zoes. Every table is squished
together with limited room for mobility. For some the basic knowledge
of close company while eating can be frightening. The fear turns
people away possibly forcing them never to eat or study in Zoes. The
behaviors in Zoes are so set in stone that someone who doesnt fit
that mold just is simply out of luck. If a new student is unaware of
these behaviors they are very likely to have a difficult time.

The Harry Potter Room

~The room of intimidation~
The Harry Potter room in the library has a certain feel to it. Its
hard to pin it down, it makes you feel important though. Everyone is
studying or sleeping in the Harry Potter room there really isnt any in
between. Zoned in or zoned out, either way once you fall into one of
those frames, thats the stereotype. Once you start working in the
room you wont stop. This behavior can be a positive for some students
who thrive off working besides others. Or simply the inclusive and
dynamic atmosphere of the Harry Potter room helps them finish their
work. Though some find the room extremely intimidating. The inclusive
environment can make feel students that they are incapable of
studying within the walls of the Harry Potter room because only a
certain stereotype of student studies there. Once again a place on

campus has a hard time combating and forming stereotypes. The

negative influence of the specific molding in a place has undesirable
outcomes on students.

Getting Around
As I was thinking of this issue I began to wonder if this is actually
a problem or if Id just seen a few examples of it. So I began to ask new
students, yes freshman, about their first weeks on campus. I was
astounded by the feedback. Everyone I spoke to had a difficulty finding
out how to do simple things on campus. In one situation I asked a girl
named Stephanie Sewell who is a freshman here on campus if she had
any difficulty. Turns out she only knew how to get to the ridgeway
dorms from the C parking lot. She had no idea how to find it any other
way. This gave her anxiety and forced her to struggle after classes.
After the amount of students I found had a negative experience from a
place on campus I became more in tune with this issue.

Why this matters

While people attempt to fit into the genre of each place they
encounter they use different ways to combat the difficulty of the
behaviors. This happens almost every time a student is uncomfortable
with a situation. This adds a whole other element to the issue because
each addition to the genre can create even more of a dysfunction
within a place. Heilker wrote an essay on genres. In this essay he made
a compelling claim that, genres are rather a way of being. So in each
behavior someone takes upon himself or herself, they are adding to
the genre of a place and their peers. While freshman struggle to find
their way on campus they begin to form a new genre in each place
they encounter. Now its simple, genres are subjective, they can be
good or bad. The danger of new students not being able to acclimate
to campus is that they might form a new genre that doesnt fit with
Westerns set ideals. Which very well, through time, could change
campus dramatically.

Genres on Campus
The main example of this response to the uncomfortable
stereotypes on campus is the use of headphones. In almost every
place on campus you can find individuals using headphones to add to

whatever they are doing. Its as if the places they encounter are often
to out of their normal comfort they need something to help them live
within that moment. Headphones have almost turned everyone into
zombies in certain areas. In the daylight lounge its become so bad
that I rarely see someone without being plugged in while they do their
work. Staeheli writes, that a place is a result of cultures throughout
time. The library as a whole is a perfect example of Staehelis Place
essay. While headphones have become so normal, the library has
become a perfect place for everyone to plug in and act like zombies.
The explicit behaviors in each place on campus has forced people to
either use the place for whats its there for or to find ways around that
certain ideal. Either by becoming a zombie or not using the place at all.

What we have currently

I began to research the ways Western offers help for new
students. Most notably I found the Student Outreach Services. This
service includes many useful things like academic advising, and job
opportunities. The program is based on their website and relies on
students outreach for help. Overall its an excellent asset to new
students. Though it misses some things.

Why its problematic

Students need a tangible way to learn about their environment. A
website or phone call can never truly show a new student how a place
operates. Peer to peer influence is nowhere to be found on a website.
Students need an easy and simpler way to find their way into Westerns
culture. There needs to be a change.

New Student Outreach Club

Add a New Student Outreach Club. NSOC would be a student run
club with the sole purpose of educating and aiding new students how
campus works and how to get the most out of all of the places.
The best way to combat the negative impacts of stereotype
formation in a place is, education. The most important aspect of living
on a college campus is knowledge. Sounds cheesy enough but think
about it. If people are educated and familiar with their surroundings, it
can become easy to find a place that works for them.
If we implement a more structured program to educate and
acclimate new students to campus they might be able to find a
comfortable area on campus before their junior year. A program like
this must be most importantly must be run by students. As much as
administration likes to imagine they know the campus, nothing is more
educated than the source, most notably the students attending the
university.
Its easy, peer-to-peer, and student-to-student programs that will
help new enrolling students become comfortable with campus, and
ultimately have a more uplifting experience. A new student club would
be an easy way for freshman and students alike to be able to find

themselves around campus. The club would meet and have agendas to
show the new students the real ways campus works: how Zoes bagels
works, how the Harry Potter room operates, where and how to get
around campus- overall how to be a successful student.

Issues?
To fully get the most out of a club like this would be peer-to-peer
influence. With this comes the necessity of older student participation.
This can become hard to come by especially when everyone days are
busy. Older students may not have the time to help students very
easily, let alone freshman. So I asked older students about the
possibility of making time for a new students club. Brooke Branign a
junior here at Western gave me a resounding, yes. She has realized
and has many friends who see how hard it is for new students to
acclimate and says they would make time for it. To help Western as a
whole, both new and older students will benefit.

NSOC

A new student outreach club would be the best way to combat

new student anxiety. A club of older and experienced students would
show new students the honest ways campus works and how each
place serves a certain purpose. Ultimately this form of club would
make new students adjustment to campus and college life a much
easier and healthier one than other alternatives. With student action
we can discover ways to make campus an even more friendly and open
atmosphere for everyone. Each student needs a fair chance to have
the upmost amount of confidence entering each day. An education
program to help new students acclimate to the new environment would
boost moral for not only the new students but also the clubs student
body. All in all a new student outreach club would help everyone grow.