This Isn't Your Parents' College Orientation

Some psychologists say this generation of college students have an increased sense of entitlement. They've grown up watching people who are famous for being famous, people in positions of power cheating and getting away with it and plagiarism running rampant with Internet accessibility.

Educators at Elmhurst College concede it may be a generation that's self-involved, but these are also young people who care about the world and are ready to take action to make it better.

"I would say that certainly there's an increased amount of entitlement among the college-age demographic," said Eileen Sullivan, dean of students at Elmhurst College. "(But) I love this generation of students. They are hugely altruistic."

Students today are very concerned about others. They volunteer more than past generations. They make the connection between service and civic engagement, Sullivan said.

They've gone from, " 'I'm concerned about poverty so I'm going to serve in the local soup kitchen,' to 'I'm concerned about poverty so I'm going to go work for this candidate who's concerned with eradicating poverty,' " Sullivan said.

Sullivan is working to capture and nourish that spirit among students at Elmhurst College with an orientation and first-year program titled "Big Questions: What do you stand for?"

This values-intensive program gives students an early, direct connection to their academic experience—even before classes start. Students are teamed up with an orientation group facilitated by student and staff leaders. 

They won't know the answer to "What do you stand for?" by the end of orientation, but it will start the process, said Desiree Collado, assistant dean at Elmhurst and director of student success.

Students explore consensus-building and values to help them get a sense of who they are, she said.

This is only the third year of the program at Elmhurst, but based on student feedback, about 94 percent of students feel the program is positive and worthwhile.

"It's really neat to see the orientation student leaders are those who participated in the pilot program (as freshmen)," Collado said.

During orientation week, the last week of August, students were frantically trying to get settled into their dorms and, frankly, weren't thinking so much about their values.

Freshman Ashley Kindelan of Northlake said the biggest thing on her mind was, "Where is everything going to go?"

She said she's kind of nervous to be on her own, but more excited than nervous. To her, the Big Questions program will help her develop better relationships with teachers and peers.

She plans on being busy.

"I'm everywhere, all the time," she said. "There's a lot of things I want to be. My major is musical theater with a minor in secondary education for theater—and maybe English, just for a backup."

Kathy and Doug Harbert from Michigan helped their son, Alex, move in. 

"I think (the program) is absolutely fantastic," Kathy said, as she prepared to haul a vacuum cleaner up the stairs at Schick Hall. "It lets them look outside of their little world they've grown up in to see there's a world out there they can contribute to."

"It's a little hot in there," Alex said, referring to his dorm room.

Big Questions "should be cool," he said. "I'll have a blast doing that, I'm sure."

Fun was definitely a priority, as students participated in a series of activities designed to build confidence, make connections with one another and generally enjoy themselves. It was a great way to take some of the pressure off, Collado said.

"There's a sense of reassurance that they're going to know someone (as they begin their classes)," Collado said.

They participated in challenge courses, a service project and a game-show activity similar to Jeopardy that exposed them to a code of ethical conduct—all designed to get them thinking about their values. A book discussion, on Where am I Wearing by Kelsey Timmerman, got them thinking about globalization in the garment industry.

Sullivan developed the program during her previous senior positions at Loras College in DuBuque and at Bowling Green University in Kentucky.

"This is the third, and best, iteration," she said.

Data shows that at the end of their college careers, students who participated in the programs earned more credit hours and higher GPAs, and were more satisfied with the institution, Sullivan said.

And in the end, that could benefit all of us.

Sullivan recalled a C-SPAN program featuring Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, who served under Bill Clinton. At the end of the show, he was asked to talk about young people's engagement in political life.

"He said, 'I'm not finding them entitled and disengaged. I find they're more engaged,' " Sullivan said. "This generation is starting to recognize that just saying that what's going on in the world sucks isn't good enough. They are starting to think strategically about how to make a difference."