Head Residents (HRs) are student staff who supervise Resident Assistants (RAs) in the residential halls. They are seniors who have been RAs in the past, and so have lots of experience with programming and building community. So go ahead and meet your HR!
Campus Culture: WES Acronyms
92: 92 Theater, right next to Memorial Chapel Argus: Wesleyan student newspaper CFA: Center for the Arts COL: College of Letters CRC: Career Resources Center CSS: College of Social Studies DFC: Daniel Family Commons, 3rd floor Usdan Drop-Add: A period of time right after school starts, where you can add new classes or drop unwanted ones FGSS: Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program Fisk: Building on High Street where most language courses take place Foss Hill: The big slope right next to Andrus Field where you sit and chill with friends on a sunny afternoon or slide down in winter Freeman: Freeman Athletic Center OR Freeman East Asian Center Helpdesk: Part of ITS, people located in Science Center 116 who will save your computer Hir/Zir: 
Gender neutral possessive pronoun IMS: Instructional Media Services, branch of ITS, all sorts of media-related services on campus, i.e. video-taping events, recording classes, etc. ITS: Information Technology Services MB&B: Molecular Biology & Biochemistry MoCon: McConaughy Hall, round, UFO-shaped building sitting behind Hewitt, former student cafeteria until end of Spring 2007 Neon: Neon Deli, run by Fran and Cynthia on corner of Cross St. and Vine St., a favorite place if you’re stuck on campus with nothing open and no food supplies The Nics: one of the four Nicolson res halls on Foss Hill OBHS: Office of Behavioral Health for Students PAC lab: Computer lab located on the ground floor of PAC PAC: Public Affairs Center, where Economics, History, Government, Sociology & CSS have their department offices Pi: Pi-Café, located in Science Center P-safe: Public Safety S&C: Star & Crescent restaurant located in Alpha Delt SALD: Student Activities and Leadership Development, supports students and student groups, another resource for event budgets SBC: Student Budget Committee, a WSA committee in charge of allocating the student activities fund that holds weekly meetings so student groups can go and submit budget requests for upcoming events Science Center (ESC): Exley Science Center Sci-Li: Short for “Science Library,” located in Exley Science Center SJB: Student Judicial Board ST Lab: 24-hour computer lab on ground floor Science Center Summerfield: Student dining facility located in the Butterfield courtyard TEV: Transfer, Exchange and Visiting students The Butts: Butterfield res halls The Market Place: Student dining area on 2nd floor Usdan The Ride: Campus shuttle that runs from 7pm-4am Usdan: Campus center Wesleying: Wesleyan student-run blog WesMap: Online course schedule WesShop: Grocery store on campus where you can get anything from toothpaste, oatmeal, microwave food, fresh produce to kitchenware for only points and cash WestCo: West College res hall WesWings: Restaurant on High Street opposite the Butts, serves chicken wings and other yummy foods, only accepts points and cash WSA: Wesleyan Student Assembly Ze: Gender neutral pronoun Zelnick: Zelnick Pavilion, glass box connecting Memorial Chapel and 92 Theater, exhibitions and events are held there
The Orientation Interns
Academic Skills Assessment Survey Recommendations
Thank you all for submitting the academic skills assessment survey. Based on what you told us in the survey, we have recommended specific workshops to enhance or reinforce your academic skills in particular areas and to help you negotiate a smooth transition from high school to college. Do not be alarmed if some of you receive more 
recommendations than others. This survey was for your benefit and our recommendations, based on your responses, will connect you with resources to help promote your success and make your academic experience more productive and satisfying. You can access these recommendations through your e-portfolio in the “Wesleyan Career” bucket now and view a schedule of workshops that will be available during the first two weekends after classes begin.
Bicycle Security
Because of the rise in value of the average bicycle in recent years and the increase of bikes on campus, there has been an increase in the number of bikes stolen on campus. Most bikes that have been taken are either unsecured or secured with a cable lock, which is easily cut.
If you bring a bicycle to campus you should:
- Purchase and use a high quality U lock to secure it. When parked near other bikes, chances are a thief will take the bike with the least secure lock.
- If your U lock has a key at the end of the crossbar, position the lock with its keyway end facing down towards the ground to make it more difficult for someone to get at.
- Personalize the bike to make it less attractive to a would-be thief and easy to identify if recovered.
- Engrave an ID number on the bike (take advantage of Operation Identification).
- Register your bike with Public Safety.
On Wednesday, September 2, there will be a Safety Fair held at the Usdan Center courtyard. Public Safety will be registering bikes at that time and will also have U locks that can be purchased for $20.00.
Two helpful websites for further information are: www.nationalbikeregistry.com and www.BicycleSafe.com.
Lt. Paul Verrillo,Wesleyan Public Safety
Transitioning to Campus Life
College life, as exciting as it is, can be significantly different from your past experiences. New environment, new friends, new classes, new ideas, new experiences are yours for the taking! There is familiarity with being a student since you’ve been doing that most of your life, but you may need to adapt your study habits to a less structured and more demanding academic environment. And you may be living on your own for the first time, responsible for everything from getting up on time for class to doing your own laundry to budgeting your money. A few suggestions for managing the transition:
- Talk with friends and family members who have recently attended college about their experiences transitioning to campus life — the challenges, the joys, the things they wish they knew starting out. You may be able to glean some words of wisdom!
- Make a plan with your parents/guardians for how frequently you will talk and email. Strive for regular, but not daily, contact. It will help you concentrate on adjusting to Wesleyan while still reducing the likelihood of feeling homesick.
- Once on campus, seek out opportunities to get involved in one or two activities outside the classroom. Focus on quality, not quantity. You have plenty of time over the next four years to try out everything!
- Being a college student does not have to equal being unhealthy. Strive for balanced eating habits, a regular sleep pattern and a manageable workload.
- If you are of age and choose to consume alcohol while on campus, party with a plan! It will greatly reduce your risk for problems related to your own consumption. Learn more about how to do this with Randy Haveson during New Student Orientation.
- Keep up your exercise routine at Wesleyan’s great athletic facilities, with WesWELL’s non-credit fitness classes, or on your own. Physical activity greatly helps with reducing stress levels and with mental acuity.
- Ask for help if you need it academically or personally; it is a sign of strength, not one of weakness. We want to help you succeed!
More Suggestions about What to Bring…
A parent sent me this article by a rising first-year student for more suggestions about what to bring with you. Check it out at “Top 10 Necessities for High School Graduates”.
The WSA
In addition to the great leadership opportunities noted previously by Elisa Del Valle from the Student Activities Office and Dean Rick Culliton, new students should consider getting involved in the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA).
Joining the WSA is a great way to get to know Wesleyan. Members of the WSA focus on important issues and projects 
to benefit the student body. They are your representatives, but also work closely with the administration and get to know the ins and outs of the University. The WSA is a diverse body always looking for new members who truly want to make a difference at Wes. To learn more, attend one of their orientation sessions, listed below. Elections occur during the second week of classes, so whether or not you run, make sure you vote for your class representatives!
The full election timeline is: Information sessions Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; Petitions due: Sept. 11; Elections open: Sept. 14 at 12 a.m.; Elections close: Sept. 18 at 11:59 p.m.; First WSA meeting: Sept. 20.
FYM’s Common Moment and Water Footprint
This year’s Common Moment promises to be a memorable experience! Produced by the amazing staff at Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts, it will include incredible drumming, rhythmic movement, Prometheus (Wesleyan’s fire spinners), a human histogram, and of course, ice cream.
As a class, you get to showcase drumming and dance movements from six different cultures—Korean, Cuban, West African, Japanese, Irish and South Indian—where water is an important component of their cultural traditions. Assigned to one of the six cultural groups, you will be taught a drumming and movement piece, choreographed by Nicole Stanton, chair of the dance department, and Bill Carbone, a graduate student in the music department. After spending about 20 minutes with a choreographer and student staff to learn the piece, each group will perform for the entire class.
The evening will culminate with the Class of 2013 forming a human histogram about its own water footprint. On Andrus Field, you will embody your responses to a survey that you completed in discussion groups the night before, which was developed from the information in the Water Footprint website in your Common Readings. It will be a night not soon forgotten!
Check out the Water Footprint website in Blackboard or at http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/home . Complete the questions to find out how your water footprint measures up with the rest of the world’s!
Sarah Lazare: Assoc. Dean for Student Academic Resources
Sarah Lazare, the associate dean for student academic resources, works in several capacities to help students achieve academic success at Wesleyan. She administers Disabilities Services, oversees the Student Academic Resource Network (SARN) and SARN Peer Advisors, and works with the Class Deans to provide academic support to Wes students of all class years. There are so many academic resources available to students that when students find themselves stumbling, all they have to do is ask. The Deans’ Office or any other SARN program can help them find a solution.
Dean Sarah started working at Wesleyan in December 2006. She holds a bachelor’s degree in religion from Smith 
College; a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst; and a law degree from CUNY School of Law. She worked at Smith College until 2000, where she also provided academic support services to students among her other responsibilities. After graduating from CUNY School of Law, she served as their coordinator of Student Activities and Events for one year before practicing public interest law in Springfield, MA for two years. She found that she did not like courtroom trial work and missed working with students. After her two year appointment practicing law was up, she returned to higher education where she is again able to help students attain their dreams.
Come visit Dean Sarah on the garden level of North College (okay, the basement, really) in room 021. You can drop by or make an appointment by writing to slazare@wesleyan.edu or calling x2332.
CIRP Freshman Survey
You now have access through your e-portfolio to the very COOL CIRP Freshman Survey. Completed by thousands of incoming college students every year, it provides an important and interesting snaphot of the class of 2013 across the country. If you have not had a chance to complete the CIRP survey yet, PLEASE DO! It is administered to all first-year students at Wes and provides important information about your collective preferences, attitudes, accomplishments, political leanings, plans, goals, and so on. It’s fun to do. Hey, there’s nothing like clicking on bubbles on the ‘net.
Questions? Contact Rommel Guadalupe, rguadalupe@wesleyan.edu or 860-685-2530