Sunil Kumar talking with a young woman and her mother and father in a room with balloons and other families.

Tufts University President Sunil Kumar greets a new student and her family during check-in for pre-orientation and move-in on August 23. Photo: Alonso Nichols

Campus Life

A Fun Way to Begin Their College Careers

Tufts pre-orientation programs provide new students with valuable experiences and ways to make new connections

The Hill was once again bustling as more than 1,000 members of the Class of 2028, as well as transfer and commuter students, arrived on campus on August 23 and took part in pre-orientation programs. 

Pre-O, as it’s called, provides opportunities for new students to get involved in campus activities early on, meet campus leaders and mentors, gain leadership skills, and meet others with similar interests before classes begin. 

Though Pre-O is optional for new students, more than half of the incoming class participated this year. 

This year’s slate of Pre-O programmatic offerings included Building Engagement and Access for Students at Tufts (BEAST), Cultivate Relationships by Engaging with Arts at Tufts Experiences (CREATE), Fitness and Individual Development at Tufts (FIT), First-Year Orientation Community Service (FOCUS), Global Orientation (GO), Students Heightening Actionable Political Engagement (SHAPE), Students’ Quest for Unity in the African Diaspora (SQUAD), and Tufts Wilderness Orientation (TWO).

Several hundred students pose for a photo on Memorial Steps along College Ave. in Medford

Students participating in the FIT pre-orientation pose on Memorial Steps for a group photo moments before spreading out across the Medford/Somerville campus as part of an Amazing Race-style competition. Photo: Anna Miller

For the FIT Amazing Race, students split into teams. Cheering, music, and socializing could be heard from all corners of campus as the groups took part in the race. Earlier in the day, FIT students also had the option to kayak at Spot Pond in nearby Stoneham or rock climb at Metro Rock in Everett. The FIT program is for students interested in leading a healthy and active lifestyle while at Tufts. 

Three young people wearing gloves trying to pull down a sapling weed tree in the woods.

Students in the FOCUS group, in coordination with Friends of the Fells, remove buckthorn, an invasive plant, from Middlesex Fells Reservation in Stoneham, Massachusetts, helping create space for native plants and trees to grow back. Photo: Alonso Nichols

The FOCUS program, which sponsored the activity, highlights service learning at Tufts and around the Greater Boston area. “The program is great at getting students involved in the community right when they get to Tufts,” said Jeremy Bramson, A26, who participated in FOCUS as a first-year student two years ago and now serves as a student leader for the program. “It really connects first-years to the greater area, helps them break out of the Tufts bubble, and brings different people from all different parts of Tufts together.” 

Two young people on stage wearing cardboard, with a sign behind them saying Overall Winner.

Elliot Riseman, A28, left, and Jay Vega, A28, were declared co-champions of the Trashion Show. Photo: Alonso Nichols

Students in the CREATE and SHAPE pre-orientation programs participated in a “Trashion Show.” Students were split into small groups and tasked with putting together an outfit in one of five categories—environment; immigration; social justice and politics; anti-war and peace; and housing, gentrification, and human rights—all while only using recycled materials. 

Five finalists were chosen, who then battled it out in a RuPaul’s Drag Race-style “lip sync for your life” to Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go!” The lip sync portion of the competition was decided by audience applause, and Elliot Riseman, A28, from the immigration category, and Jay Vega, A28, from the social justice and politics category, were declared co-champions of the Trashion Show. 

A young woman looks at a young man who is applying paint to a brush, sitting at a table with others doing art projects.

Aili Zissu, A29, and Gavin Federico, A28, at a watercolor painting workshop during the CREATE pre-orientation at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Photo: Alonso Nichols

The CREATE interactive program focuses on activism through the arts. Each year, incoming CREATE students immerse themselves in a critical social justice issue through various art mediums and institutions throughout the Boston area. CREATE students also toured the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston’s Seaport district.

A man points as he talks to a group of college students.

SHAPE pre-orientation students get a guided tour of the Royall House and Slave Quarters in Medford. Photo: Alonso Nichols

The Royall House and Slave Quarters, located minutes from the Tufts campus, was an 18th century plantation home to the Royalls, the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts, and at least 60 enslaved men, women, and children. The historic house features one of the only known remaining freestanding slave quarters in New England, which now serves as a museum. 

A young woman wearing a black hat and black T-shirt holds a hen, while another young woman pets it.

Students in the BEAST pre-orientation program attend a rodeo event with farm animals—including chickens, goats, and rabbits—and lawn games on Fletcher Field. Photo: Anna Miller

Students running in circles on a wide lawn while others look on.

Students in the GO pre-orientation program participate in icebreaker activities on President’s Lawn. The GO program provides new students opportunities to get to know other students from all over the world while discovering Tufts and the surrounding communities. Photo: Alonso Nichols

 

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