About two years ago, my mother and I went on a tour of Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. The tour guide was ten minutes late. She looked as if she just woke up and, in the process of running over to the admissions center, saw a pile of leaves that called out “Roll in me!” I thought things couldn’t get any worse, but then she opened her mouth. She sounded like George W. Bush and Anna Nicole Smith’s lovechild. Her ignorance was remarkable. Between the ravings about the Dawson’s Creek club and the “Honors Program, or, uh, something”, my mother and I managed to escape.
During the second semester of my freshman year at BU, my friend told me that the President’s Hosts were accepting applications. It is a volunteer position where one gives tours and assists at university functions. After the Ithaca incident, I knew that I had to do apply for the sake of high school juniors and seniors everywhere.
I was accepted. Once I began giving my own tours, I realized the visiting students were tired. Most of them had just driven up from Jersey or Long Island, spending the whole time in a car with his or her mother or father. They had just spent the morning at BC (as if that and the car ride isn’t enough to make you want to go home). Now they were about to embark on an hour-long tour of BU. Trying to keep students interested is extremely difficult, but I find the most effective way to keep their attention is to encourage any and all questions and respond in an honest and thoughtful manner.
When students ask if the population is overwhelming, I say sometimes; it’s easy to find your niche, but just as easy to get lost in the crowd. I tell my group that “yes, the weather is usually like this” and point out my permanent second-semester windburn. When the people on the tour ask about school spirit, I tell them the Bean Pot is one of my favorite annual activities, but I really miss not having a football team. As we walk around campus, I indicate the male-to-female ratio. I also inform them that east- coasters are generally not as friendly as those in the South or West and I’m more likely to have a 4.0 than witness a random act of kindness on campus.
As you, Katie, I see the tours everyday. I hear the corny jokes (“Who has a hot air popcorn popper anyway??”; “BU frats sold their brownstones to the MIT frats for $1! Who does that?!”; What’s the most popular major in CAS? Undeclared! Didn’t see that coming, did you?”). I walk behind them as I anxious try to get to the class I’m already five minutes late for. But I know that the person giving the tour is dedicating at least an hour of their day to share their experiences and tries to attract people who will contribute to BU simply by attending and/or applying.
Katie, please do me a favor. Go on a tour. Please. As Bobh and John said, you probably haven’t been a tour for three or four years. We are unpaid volunteers who spend at least 1-2 hours, although usually more, with the program per week. And, I can assure you, we do not get our kicks by making you extremely luck Bay-Staters late for class. Try to demonstrate open-mindedness before you brand all its members as insincere, manipulative propagandists.
Hilary Tholen
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