This week, thousands of new students flock to Queen’s to begin their university careers. Traditionally, campus environments have been hotbeds of social change—for examples, one need only look to the twentieth century’s civil rights or anti-apartheid movements.
But one of the first lessons Queen’s students learn is the importance of conformity.
Frosh Week is one of the first tangible experiences first-year students have at Queen’s and they deserve for it to be an enjoyable and purposeful one. However, when thousands of students are required to do the same thing at the same time, it sends a strong message that there is only one way to be accepted and successful at Queen’s and that is through conforming to the norms of the student culture here.
In Principal Hitchcock’s fall 2006 convocation address, she made several comments that I think get at the crux of what university is supposed to be about: “Queen’s abounds in different perspectives, different theories and different cultures, and at this university you have been encouraged not to take refuge in your own opinion. We’ve urged you to see issues from competing perspectives, to question, to doubt, to resist the allure of certitude.” Frosh Week is comprised of several key principles: dress the same, say the same thing at the same time and do what your frosh leader tells you. There’s no opportunity for students to question because it suggests one is a sore sport or, worse, not committed to the group. Likewise, there’s no organized alternative, because Frosh Week organizers do not plan for such. Students quickly learn that conformity is the only way to go, or you are on your own.
This may seem just all in good fun, but I argue that the act of conformity has a lasting impact on us. You would likely be surprised by the number of students who want to know how to get an A rather than how to learn something from a class.
Also surprising is the number of first-year students who don’t go anywhere other than campus and the area around the Hub for months, never interacting with Kingston or Kingstonians.
The fact that so many students seem incapable of bursting the Queen’s bubble and are not interested in participating in Kingston are signs of this same culture of conformity. The area north of Princess Street is not a scary place but a vibrant one that reflects the reality of a city like Kingston. Students need to interact with that reality—not ignore it.
Principal Hitchcock also stated that, “The world needs citizens and leaders who are determined advocates for what they believe in. … It’s been said that leaders are those who take us elsewhere. I believe that you will take us elsewhere.” If Queen’s develops leaders, then that commitment should start now. Let students’ first experience here be a celebration of independent thought—not an exercise in groupthink.
Although it’s unrealistic to think Orientation Week organizers will remove the fundamental element of conformity from Frosh Week overnight, in the meantime there’s a responsibility for them to take steps to ensure that if students are not enjoying themselves, their frosh leaders are equipped to and actually do provide alternatives for these students.
The Queen’s chapter of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) strives to provide cultural options such as Alternative Frosh Week. It’s vital for students to engage with another side of Queen’s culture—a side that values exploration and critical thinking. After all, isn’t that what university is supposed to be about?
So, class of 2011, I strongly encourage you to be critical of everything around you. In the spirit of learning, don’t assume that the way things are, are the way things should be.
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Sayyida Jaffer is a co-ordinator with OPIRG Kingston. For more information, please visit opirgkingston.org.
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