Dear President Eisgruber and Vice President Calhoun,
I was dismayed to hear of the recently announced changes to Princeton’s orientation program, including Outdoor Action. For over 50 years, OA has been building the bonds that make Princeton great, and this decision threatens the foundation of the school we all love so much.
The special magic of OA is that it puts all incoming students on an even footing in an environment that is alien to many of them: the woods. OA leaders then leverage that dynamic to create friendships and opportunities for growth that will carry students through the next 4 years. The isolated nature of OA trips has the unique ability to break down barriers between those coming from private high schools and from public schools, between extroverts and homebodies, and between the unfathomably wealthy and those on full financial aid. As a public school student who was on substantial financial aid myself, OA made me feel welcome and connected in a way that no on-campus program could have. I attribute a large part of the confidence that allowed me to thrive at Princeton to that trip, and I went on to become a Leader and eventually a Leader Trainer precisely so I could pass that experience on to the next generation.
By all accounts, OA has been wildly successful in its mission. Publicly available data are a little stale, but I’m sure you are aware of the measured impacts that show OA’s enormous benefits to everything from social belonging to improving incoming students’ erroneous perceptions of alcohol use on campus. Based on my anecdotal conversations with my former classmates, I am sure alumni surveys will also support those claims.
Given OA’s enormous positive impact on the Princeton experience, it is crucial that OA take place before students establish a rhythm on campus. Even ignoring the likely precipitous drop in participation rates due to the many demands on students’ time, OA cannot feasibly undo two months of conditioning from classes, eating clubs, and frats. Other experiences will fill the gap left by OA, and the administration will not like the message students receive in that vacuum. An orientation program that takes place two months into the Princeton experience is no orientation program at all—it is a backpacking club. Make no mistake: this policy change amounts to a dismantling of the OA program.
Even if you ultimately conclude that moving to a different structure for orientation remains the right decision, I would urge you to reconsider the manner in which this change is being implemented. OA is special among our peer institutions precisely because of the long history of the program and the continuous revitalization of the Leader cohort with new students. Eliminating OA as we know it, even for a few years, will irreversibly weaken the program in a way that may make it difficult to reestablish later. Indeed, if this change shows up in Annual Giving participation rates or general satisfaction surveys four years from now, it will be too late to reverse course without major damage.
I sincerely hope you will reconsider. Call or email any time if I can be of any help as you navigate this transition.
Best,
Jim Valcourt ’12 S’13