In an e-mail to residents of the college last week, Whitman College Director of Studies Cole Crittenden explained that participating underclassmen will be responsible for helping their senior buddies out with such things as “picking up a midnight snack, taking care of a load of laundry, picking up/dropping off some library books, or proofreading a chapter for spelling mistakes.”
The buddy program is an effort to support upperclassmen living in the four-year college, Crittenden explained in an e-mail to The Daily Princetonian. “For seniors we thought about a few programs we could offer, especially around the thesis.”
Running errands
The program is eliciting mixed reactions from the campus community.
At least one freshman is interested in the program. “I think it’s fair to help seniors. They’re in a situation we’ll be in ourselves,” Philipp Bewerunge ’11 said. “We’ll get something back when we’re seniors. [And] it’s good to meet people,” he explained.
Whitman senior Stan Gabryszewski ’08 agrees that the voluntary nature of the program should contribute to its efficacy. “I predict that most underclassman-senior pairings will work out just fine, since each of the students will already be seeking an opportunity to connect with another fellow Whitmanite by virtue of signing up,” he said in an e-mail.
On the other hand, some students are skeptical of what the program intends to accomplish. “It’s not going to foster much of a relationship,” Whitman freshman Zachary Solomon ’11 said. “The thesis is the last thing a senior does,” he said, explaining that seniors on their way to graduation are more interested in finishing their independent work than in making friends with freshmen.
Solomon said he doubts the ability of the buddy program to introduce underclassmen to the thesis process. “They make it seem like you’re getting an understanding of what it’s going to be like to write a thesis,” he said.
“I feel like I would definitely not participate because I feel that it’s kind of ridiculous ... I suppose it would help to ask an underclassman to help you in your time of need, but you taking five or 10 minutes” will not make a significant difference in thesis writing, Jiwon Yhee ’09 said. She added that underclassmen have things to do themselves and that if she were a senior it would be faster to run the errands herself.
Reasonable powersA significant concern among students is whether the program is an appropriate venture.
The description of the program in the College’s e-mail made Jessica De Leon ’08 “uncomfortable.”
“I really don’t know what I’d get out of it,” Jacob Denz ’10, a Rocky resident, agreed. “I guess it’s cool to meet a senior ... [But] there’s something weird about it. Of course there are traditions [like this], but they’re not officially sponsored,” he explained, referring similar buddy systems practiced in such organizations as fraternities and sororities.
Whitman College residential graduate student Steven Lauritano ’05 GS said, however, “What distinguishes the Whitman program is the fact that it is strictly voluntary and it attempts to match buddies with thesis students in their own department.” This, he hopes, will “give [underclassmen] some insight into the kind of work involved in a thesis.”
Still, some seniors may be enticed by an extra hand during the final weeks of their thesis-writing. “I definitely could use someone to go out to Hoagie Haven while I’m stuck in the basement of the library,” Schaen said.
Evolution of the system
Lauritano, who is helping the College Office organize the program, says the idea for the program grew out of his experiences as a Princeton undergraduate.
The College is working to expand the buddy system model that is in place in some University departments to have the potential to support all the seniors in the college.
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