The Fletcher School

Fletcher Orientation 2004 As the rubber chicken was flung into the air for the sixth time that day, incoming Fletcher student Xanthe Scharff raced round a circle of cheering classmates in a valiant attempt to beat the clock – and the opposing team. Just twenty-four hours earlier, the entire class had spent a morning impersonating wild animals, tossing plastic balls, and generally getting goofy on the newly-carpeted floors of the School’s Hall of Flags.

By all accounts, Fletcher Orientation 2004 was off to a roaring start. Seemingly silly “ice-breaker” activities led by second-year students and Fletcher staff did much to ease transitions from “stranger” to “friend.” Throughout the program, which ran from Monday, August 30 to Friday, September 3, organizers worked hard to make incoming students feel at home in their new community.

On Wednesday, the class took a guided ferry ride to Thompson Island, in the Boston Harbor. The trip was the first in Fletcher history. On the island, frisbees, soccerballs, softballs, American footballs, and faux-chickens flew as students organized spontaneous sports events to fulfill a wide variety of athletic interests. Blue skies and sandy beaches added to the general enthusiasm, and some intrepid souls even braved the waters of the Boston harbor for a chilly but ego-boosting dip.

And if island hopping wasn’t enough, Fletcher staff also organized a wildly popular outing on Thursday evening to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Die-hard Sox fans and baseball neophytes alike shared in the excitement of the event as the Red Sox beat the Anaheim Angels 4-3 to extend their lead in the wildcard playoff race.

For Nirmalan Wigneswaran from Sri Lanka,“ the passion of the Red Sox game evoked memories of cricket from back home.” Joji Ide, who had attended his first major league baseball game one week earlier at Yankee Stadium, noted that at Fenway the “atmosphere was better and the people were more fun.” In a major game highlight, the maroon-flag-bearing Fletcher section initiated a wave that (after approximately eleven false starts) eventually engulfed the entire stadium.

Boat trips and ball games were complemented by more sober discussions of the academic rigors ahead. On the first day of orientation, Academic Dean Laurent Jacque, Professor Leila Fawaz, Professor Steven Block, and Professor Michael Glennon welcomed students to Fletcher and provided curriculum guidance to the group.

Later in the week, second-year student Ben Mazzotta and PhD candidate Andrea Dew led workshops on graduate-level reading and writing skills, sharing much-appreciated wisdom accumulated during their Fletcher experience. After asking registrar Nora Moser McMillan to cover her ears, Dew offered a piece of heartfelt advice.

“You will never regret that sixteenth optional article you didn’t read,” she said. “But you will always regret the friend you didn’t make.”

Other orientation speakers included Dr. Susan Ingleby, Director of Career Services, Laurie Hurley, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Ginn library staff, Tufts health services and campus safety personnel, and University President Lawrence Boscow, who made a convincing pitch for new members of his “President’s club” Boston marathon team.

As incoming MALD student Paul Campbell reflected on his experience, he noted that “I’ve been really happy with they way [the organizers] have mixed fun with concrete material, getting us both excited about what we’re doing and prepared for the challenges to come. And the food was great.”

Integrating a group representing forty-three nations and a plethora of professional backgrounds is no mean feat. Student Affairs Coordinator Karen Quinn and the rest of the orientation team made it look like a breeze. Despite her protest that “ the class was fun to work with, which made the job easier,” Quinn thoroughly deserved the impromtu chorus of “we love you Karen, oh yes we do” which erupted after the end of Friday night’s student-led comedy show.

And the rubber chicken game? Unfortunately, in spite of her best efforts, Scharff’s team was unable to assert hurled-poultry dominance over its rivals. In classic Fletcher fashion, however, her response to defeat was diplomatic.

“ Actually,” she noted, “we were having so much fun that it didn’t really matter.”

Article by Anika Binnendijk MALD '06