September 2nd 2010, Orientation Speech by CC Chair

Hello, students, staff, and faculty, the board and Marlene, my name is Leanna Pohevitz and as you just heard I will be serving as the Community Council Chair for the 2010-2011 school year.

This being the fourth Orientation I have taken part in, I can still remember the nerves that many of you are feeling. You left behind your comfy couch to venture into a new world with people you could never have imagined. Many of you will be for the first time dorming- an experience that requires you to shower in a stall next to someone you have never met before. Its weird, its gross, its incredible, its amazing, it will be hard, it will be fun, and it will make up what is often referred to as the best years of your life.

...and right now, though it is difficult to imagine those terrible beds will feel just as much like home in just a few months, but they will.

You are from all over the place, different countries, different value systems, different experiences that have made you qualified, independent Hampshire students. My advice is to learn as much from each other as you can.

The way I have found it easiest to learn from each other is to step out there. So yeah, here it comes, the part where I tell you to be involved, but I feel like being the Chair of Council gives me a little lee-way to tell you it from the Hampshire point of view. Take my position for example. I am not the student body president - though the student body voted for me - I am meant instead to be the voice of the community, by making sure everyone's voices are heard.

Four committees on campus serve as standing-committees of council, which help to plan your biggest parties on campus - Hampshire Halloween and Spring Jam - as well as funding other events, develop changes across campus to make this college your home, help support the student groups financially and help to ensure the protection of all members of Hampshire's community, working with Public Safety and the school to keep everyone healthy and safe. These committees all meet in the back of the airport lounge - and you can easily get involved just by showing up there.

Beyond that, there are hundreds of student groups - I know, you swore you would NEVER join another student group after you realized they were just babysitting you or play a song in front of people after your 60th rendition of "Let it be", or do another sport after that jerk was given the homecoming crown cause his muscles memorized the field goal angle - and then you came here.

Here you will see things like shake and bake - a club where students get together to read Shakespeare plays out loud while making delicious snacks of similar names, i.e. Macdeath by Chocolate. You will fall in love with any beat Morgan Greenstreet drums and attend or try and participate in every Stimulus Package concert. You will watch the Frisbee tournaments out your window - and participate in the glory of every catch.

You will defy your high school cliques.

One last thing I must mention - going home. I am sorry in advance for how many times you will say - yeah.. we don't have grades. Um no, no tests. No I mean,, yeah. How many times you will need to defend the fact that though you don't have an "A" so, no you didn't cheat on a test or rote memorize some super biased textbook. I just wanted to tell you now, that soon you will be able to look those people in the eye, and say, I spend every day with the smartest people I know, who have an uncanny thirst for knowledge, what does your "A" mean?

Please never hesitate to ask me personally for help, but also anyone on Council or its standing committees, not to mention all the support systems we have here. We want nothing more than for your days here to be awesome.

If you have any interest in Council, its standing committees, anything I have said, asking questions you're nervous to ask or free mini golf or let's be honest, free ice cream- Monday September 6th we will be meeting at 6:00pm in the bus circle to go play some free mini-golf. Join us!

So, though you are not the only ones out there, today is your day entering class of Fall 2010 - congratulations and welcome home.