Orientation 2020

New student Orientation, like most things in this strange era, will look a bit different this year. The typical Orientation program takes place in a jam-packed final week of August, and a remote version of that week remains on the schedule this year. New students will still have plenty of opportunity to dig into all of the logistics of beginning grad school (including curricular planning and degree-specific requirements, understanding the particulars of financial aid, and ensuring various digital credentials are in place to access a variety of online resources) and to begin a series of ongoing conversations with the full Fletcher community on some important broader themes such as respectful engagement, diversity and inclusion, time and stress management, and codes of conduct.

So, pandemic conditions really don’t drastically affect the formal content of Orientation. What’s disrupted is all the interstitial interaction that helps people get to know one another; new students passing in the hallways as they learn their way around the building, chats while standing in line for the lunch buffet in Blakeley courtyard, and the casual drop-ins to various administrative and faculty offices. To that end, this year’s Orientation has been considerably expanded. So much so, in fact, that it begins TODAY! The next three weeks will present a party platter of optional (but highly recommended) virtual events and activities to emphasize the community atmosphere that is the lifeblood of Fletcher. Lots of opportunities to engage with faculty (ranging from lectures in their areas of expertise to social activities and game nights to informal conversation hours), a variety of sessions led by current students, film screenings, yoga sessions, and time to learn more about various student and affinity organizations. New students can pick, choose, and sample according to their whims and schedules, but by the time the mandatory final week of Orientation begins the hope is that many will have crossed digital paths a good handful of times already. It’s the next best thing to actually being together physically. We administrator types are looking forward to joining the fun, too, to start getting to know the newest Fletcher students!