Frosh on the brink of a needless breakdown

When arriving in a new place, the first thing I always do is get a map, find a hotel, and obtain general advice on what to see and do. When freshmen arrive at Yale, they receive a map and are assigned a room, but unfortunately never secure any substantive guidance from a knowledgeable faculty member.

Like most high school seniors trying to decide on a school, I perused several books from various universities before choosing Yale. Its guides highlighted the quality and abundance of advisors and support ranging from academics to mental health. Yet once students commit their tuition (room and board), they get a freshman advisor who is often not in their area of interest or even familiar with the requirements necessary to successfully advance to sophomore year, let alone to graduate.

Unfortunately the story does not end there--as we all know. The following years bring essentially rubber-stamped signatures on schedules merely glanced at by advisors in our majors. While this is an opportunity to seek help, going to the residential college advisor is not always easy or beneficial. Often advisors are busy and overloaded with students that they do not know because they only see them twice a year.

A testament to the pathetic state of academic support is the abundance of "blue-book parties" designed to facilitate gaining the opinions and ideas of peers. While friends and fellow majors remain valuable resources, somehow at Yale I would hope to also be aided by a knowledgeable faculty member who knows the department best.

Yet it seems that the fault does not lie with faculty members, who usually try their best to steer their advisees in the right direction. Instead, it is the system that does not emphasize a continuous rapport between faculty and student. Logically, freshmen get assigned advisors since they do not know any professors. Therefore, the University should take care to find an individual who has expertise within the student's expressed area of interest.

Over the course of their undergraduate years, many students will change their intended majors and will move from one discipline to another. Nevertheless, Yale should attempt to make a match as early on as possible. As the advisors are now assigned randomly, it is a near guarantee that at least someone in each freshmen suite will have an advisor who knows nothing about their intended major.

Each freshman should meet with his or her advisor regularly, so as to promote a friendship and enable the student to receive advice on the semester's assignments, such as papers, problem sets, and tests. The burden should not rest solely on the shoulders of the student or their freshman counselor. Instead, Yale should provide a better system to facilitate academic success throughout a Yalie's first year on campus.

Once the first year ends, the load lightens as students start to figure out their own method of shopping and picking classes. Although the task of advising eases simultaneously, the quality of support remains inadequate. While many professors are quite well-versed in classes offered in their respective areas of expertise, the advising system fails to sufficiently encourage the student-faculty relationship. Busy faculty members often do not have significant amounts of time to spend with each student.

For example, advising all of the history majors in Saybrook College is a ridiculous expectation for any one person, much less a professor who has his or her own work and responsibilities. The University needs to reduce the number of students per advisor and require more meetings throughout the semester. In this fashion, the student and faculty member could get to know one another. The professor would then be able to offer more relevant advice. Otherwise the guidance remains either sparse or stock; neither of which is overwhelmingly useful.

Yale usually manages to develop systems that make life easier for students. Shopping period is almost divinely inspired. So is a course guide that actually has substantive course descriptions. Now the administration needs to provide not only a map of campus and New Haven, but also one of academic life--the real purpose of a university education. Whereas the former may come on paper, the latter necessity is human and therefore that much more important. The administration needs to realize that regardless of the intelligence or resourcefulness of Yalies, we all need a guiding light towards discovering the truth encased in the notorious blue book.

Liora Brener is a junior in Saybrook.

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