Today is an "orientation day" for students. Classes begin tomorrow.
These are the meetings I attended today:
0900 – 1000 Voyage Mission and Introduction of Faculty and Staff
1000 – 1045 Introduction to the Honor Code
1045 – 1215 Faculty/Student Conferences (essentially I stood in front of a sign with my discipline written on it and students could approach me if they had any pressing questions prior to classes beginning)
1345 – 1500 Introduction to Global Studies
Last night there was an all-ship meeting from 2000 – 2130 that was a general introduction for the students to the ship. The captain of the ship and his crew were introduced and the Executive Dean of the voyage made some important announcements regarding safety and behavior to ensure that the voyage would be safe for all on board. Following that, the faculty had a brief meeting to review the general plan for today.
Prior to these meetings, I passed the purser’s desk and overheard a student asking one of the crew members in a somewhat worried way “Don’t you feel this?” She was referring to the motion of the ship (which incidentally, wasn’t bad at all…just the slow rocking of the ship). She asked the crew member if it got any worse than this. Students are reassured that their bodies will get used to the swaying of the ship, but I was a little worried about this student if she thought this was bad. They give out a seasickness medication at the purser’s desk and students are advised to take a pill or half of a pill if they think they are experiencing any motion discomfort. Luckily, I have never really had any problems with motion sickness. I brought some Dramamine with me but doubt I will have to use it.
As of right now it is hard to really get a sense of what students are like. It will run the gamut, I’m sure, but in overhearing some conversations it is clear that there are students who are still very immature and petty in many ways. For instance, I overheard one guy say to his friend as we pulled out of port in Nassau “Ok, time to drink!” Sounds like an early stage of alcoholism when your first thought is wanting to get drunk…it’s those kids that I worry about at times.
This semester there is apparently a new policy on board the ship in an attempt to “normalize” alcohol consumption in a responsible way...to take the “specialness” out of it (there apparently used to be only 8 or 9 nights per semester on past voyages when alcohol was allowed to be sold to students and apparently resident assistants spent hours just selling the tickets needed for these events to students). This semester it’s a new policy and one that is supposedly meant to be a happy medium. To this end, students apparently may purchase alcohol (with a limit) and the idea is to show students that to have a beer or a glass of wine with dinner is something that can be done without doing it to excess. There are, however, certain nights when no alcohol will be served to students (notably the night before we arrive in a port and some other nights). While I agree that the culture of alcohol consumption should be shown to be an adult and mature thing to do when done responsibly and in moderation, I wonder how students will respond to this in the end. I guess I am ill-prepared to really understand the “drink until I get drunk” mentality…when I was in college, I avoided those types of parties where beer was free-flowing and abused by most. I wonder if it’s possible to convert a die-hard drinker to a student who is able to just have a beer or glass of wine as part of a meal. At an age like 20 or 21, I think it might be very hard for some people to avoid the peer pressure of vocal group leaders within a group who promote how much they want to get drunk. I guess time will tell…I just hope I don’t have students coming to my class hungover.
Tonight we are supposed to advance our clocks by one hour.
