I am sure we have all experienced it. You are walking down the hallway in Marano, running late to class and then BAM! You are suddenly swamped by a tour group. Hallway traffic slows to a crawl; you can barely get around the gaggle of parents and potential students learning the benefits of peer tutoring and being regaled with fun facts about Al Roker. This scene occurs on almost a day to day basis, as tours are given on most weekdays, adding yet another layer to the bustle of campus life. “Admitted Students Days” though, are a whole different level of busy. 

This past Friday, March 28, SUNY Oswego hosted an Admitted Students Day. A majority of the day’s events took place in Marano Campus Center, like the info fair held in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena. However, various large tour groups could be found across campus throughout the day. This created quite the inconvenience for current students just trying to get to class. The main hallway in Marano was difficult to navigate with the influx in slow-moving traffic. 

Additionally, Cooper dining hall was closed to students for two hours during lunch because a private luncheon was being served for the event. At least a few days prior to the temporary closure flyers were posted in Cooper, notifying students they would need to find another place to eat for the afternoon come Friday. As a frequent visitor of Cooper, I appreciated the advanced warning. 

Though navigating around tour groups and changing one’s routine for a day are not major inconveniences, this most recent Admitted Students Day has raised the question of whether or not these events should be scheduled on Saturdays in the future. 

What benefit is derived from hosting it on a school day? Yes, incoming students get the chance to watch ‘real life college students!’ as we go about our day, but other than that, is anything actually being gained from visiting on a random Friday? The only benefit I can see would be in a situation where attendees get to sit in on a lecture, to get a taste of the college experience. But if Admitted Students Days are only full of college prep and informational meetings, why must they be held on weekdays? Frankly, it feels strange to have people watching through classroom windows as you are just trying to pay attention to the professor. 

While a main reason for having Admitted Students Days during the school week is that incoming students and families are able to gauge what day to day life on campus is like, I would argue they might get a better feel for that by coming on the weekend. There will not be students moving across campus between classes, but that part is not that interesting anyway. People walk from class to class in high school and they continue to do it in college, nothing new. As for interest, all the buildings are still open on weekends and there are more day time events to attend. After the day of orientation activities, incoming students could catch a baseball game at Laker Baseball Field or attend another student-driven event. 

If classes were not in session during tour hours for admitted students, campus guests would not have to worry about being glared at by peeved college students. Scheduling weekends also makes it easier for families to travel since they do not need to take time off from work or school. Though I strongly think SUNY Oswego should consider moving its Admitted Students Days to weekends, I want to end by stressing the importance of having patience towards guests and student tour guides to make our future peers feel welcomed, even when they stand in the middle of the hallways.

Photo by: Alex Dos Santos via Pexels