Orange Key to pay guides

Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye confirmed on Thursday that all Orange Key guides will be paid starting this semester.

“Our perspective is that we view the tours to be of importance to the mission of the University, and we are now paying the guides for their work,” Rapelye said.

In the past, Orange Key guides have been paid only for work in the summer. The Orange Key website, which has not been updated to reflect the latest developments, still describes the organization as “Princeton University’s volunteer student tour guide service.”

Dean Rapelye explained that Orange Key Chair Sarah Van Cleve ’12 brought a proposal to pay the guides to the attention of the admission office last year, with the help of Assistant Dean of Admission Donielle Wright ’01.

Van Cleve refused to comment.

“We thought about it, and it seemed like a good decision,” Rapelye explained.

Wright relayed the news to the guides at the first meeting of the year.

The selective nature of the organization and the hard work required of successful Orange Key applicants has generally meant that students are eager to lead tours, regardless of whether or not they receive compensation. Last year, Orange Key saw a substantial increase in application numbers, with 100 applicants — an increase of about 25 percent from the year before — vying for about 50 spots. Students who wish to become Orange Key guides undergo rigorous training: They are required to read a book called the “Guide for Guides,” which contains answers to most questions a guide might receive on a tour, and must shadow two regular tours before leading a tour in the presence of a current Orange Key officer.

Orange Key guide Dan Feinberg ’13 said he was surprised to discover that guides were going to be paid considering the number of applicants that Orange Key already had as a volunteer organization.

“I loved giving tours even when it was volunteer, but of course it will be great to be paid,” Orange Key guide Cameron Henneberg ’14 said. “It’s a nice benefit.”

Rapelye expressed satisfaction with the dedication of Princeton tour guides and noted that expectations for the group have always been high.

“The tour guides have been given an increased responsibility,” Rapelye said. “There has always been a lot expected of our guides, and the same holds true now.”

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Currently, Feinberg said, “it’s easy not to be a very active member of Orange Key if you don’t want to be.” Feinberg expects this to change with the new policy, however.

On July 1, 2006, Orange Key began to operate under the admission office, when it was previously self-governing. Students quoted in a 2008 ‘Prince’ article expressed concern that the administration was trying to assert too much control over the organization and shape the guides’ messages to the public, though the admission office assured guides at the time that they were still at liberty to speak freely.

Currently, the group is the primary source of official campus tours to visitors and prospective students. With the new policy, Orange Key will no longer be able to advertise itself as a volunteer organization.

The tour guides will be paid with funds from the Office of Admission at an hourly rate, and the Office of Admission is looking into whether or not guides will be eligible for federal work-study funds.