August 30th 2012, Orientation Speech by -not- CC Chair

Hello everyone! My name is Nelson Hernandez, and I transferred to Hampshire College in the fall of 2010, from a community college back home in south Florida. In previous years, this speech has been given to the new and incoming students by the Chair of Community Council (think student government), however we're currently finishing some edits to that structure, so, when I asked if they had chosen a different student to address all of you, the response was, "nope, you wanna do it?!"

When I actually began writing this speech, it was the end of summer and I was hard at work on my senior thesis project, after spending most of the summer procrastinating. It's exciting and terrifying how much your world becomes consumed by your work once you're in that last year, what we call Division III. Because of that, it's easier for me to tell you about Hampshire in reverse, from the perspective of an overly-involved, academically-lax, transfer student -- me.

As I began to playback my time here, my first thought was of the end of a typical semester. As you may know by now, we don't really take tests. And while many of you have probably bragged to your friends about this, when the end of this semester comes along and you have to turn in a portfolio of all your work plus a major project for each class, you'll miss the simplicity of a test.

At the end of my first semester, I felt so proud (and sleep-deprived) everytime I finished a portfolio, that, after wrapping up a project for a class, I'd call my mom while I walked the manila envelope to my professor's office (i realize that now everyone's families will be expecting similar phone calls -- sorry).

Towards the middle of a typical semester, when all of the over-achievers are already starting work on their final projects, many of our student groups are at their peak in event planning and organizing activities. Conferences put on by the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program (or CLPP) and by the Lebrón-Wiggins-Pran Cultural Center (or the CC) usually take place during this time. So, as you might assume, an overly-involved student is most likely to be seen running around campus trying to secure a location for a Block Party or on a phone call trying to contract a Queer artist of color who will perform at said Block Party.

Hopefully, you will all find a student organization or two (my recommendation is no more than five) to which you can dedicate your free time. At this point, I have to continue a tradition of mentioning a student group on campus called Shake and Bake, "which meets weekly to read a Shakespearean play aloud while taking turns baking a dessert of a similar name. For example, MacDeath by Chocolate."

But there are also remarkable social activists on campus who work tirelessly to ensure that we are all aware of injustice on and off-campus. Our community is not only an open and accepting one, but more importantly one that is critical and socially-aware. Of course, we all come from different cultures and backgrounds, so what is to be "accepted" or being "socially-aware" mean different things to each of us. However, one great strength of the Hampshire community is in our ability to have conversations and debates on what we know and what we are learning.

Now, this leads me to the present: Orientation and your very first semester. In the upcoming weeks, you'll all say something like, "that's so Hampshire," while you and your hallmates laugh and chit-chat in the closest double. You'll learn how important it is (if you don't know already) to ask a stranger for their preferred gender pronouns or to ask for consent before you hold a cuties hand. You'll meet a TON of new people and make wonderful friends, because I can sincerely say that this is one of friendliest environments that I've ever encountered.

Most importantly, you'll do it. It'll happen. You'll have a full workday, complete with on and off-campus classes, a working lunch with your friends at the Bridge Cafe, and strategy meetings that will go on forever; but after all that you'll exhale, "finally, I get to go home." Without even realizing it, or with great hesitation (as in my case), you'll call Hampshire College a "home," and you'll mean it.

Congratulations to you all. I look forward to getting to know you. Welcome to our community. Thank you very much.