Tomorrow is the first day of the fall semester at UH Hilo. We have spent the last few days welcoming new students, welcoming (and then bidding farewell to) their families, and also welcoming back continuing students and faculty. Most of the staff, except for vacations, are with us throughout the summer, but as we approach the beginning of a new semester, the work changes, the pace picks up, and there is renewed energy on campus.
Tomorrow is the first day of the fall semester at UH Hilo. We have spent the last few days welcoming new students, welcoming (and then bidding farewell to) their families, and also welcoming back continuing students and faculty. Most of the staff, except for vacations, are with us throughout the summer, but as we approach the beginning of a new semester, the work changes, the pace picks up, and there is renewed energy on campus.
For students, they not only start their classes, but some are preparing to go abroad or go to the continent to study with one of our exchange partners. Other students have finished up summer internships or research projects and may be preparing for another. Faculty and staff are finalizing arrangements for students to embark on new experiences in the community or out on our ‘aina.
A provost I used to work with encouraged students to “raid the cupboard.” What he meant by that is that all these opportunities are like the cupboard or pantry in someone’s kitchen: all kinds of nourishing and fun items are in there, and we welcome you to open the door and take what you need and a bit of what you want as well. In our houses, we tell guests to “make yourself at home.” Some people do not hesitate to take us at our word and are not shy about opening the fridge or the pantry and grabbing a snack or even preparing a meal. In order to do that, however, the guest needs to truly feel at home.
If we’re in someone’s house whom we do not know as well, we might be shy about actually going into the pantry and getting something. We wait for our host to give us something or accompany us into the kitchen. If it is family, we usually do not hesitate: “Mi casa es su casa.” We know we are welcome. I used to be more cautious at my in-laws’ houses than that of my parents. I knew I belonged at the latter, but it took a while to feel like I belonged at the former. It wasn’t that they weren’t welcoming; it just took a while to get comfortable with new places and new people.
I find the same thing with university students. Some feel very comfortable on campus. They ask lots of questions. They may study away and do a research project with a faculty member and do an internship. They know they belong and they know these programs are there for them. Other students, particularly if they are first-generation college students, are a bit hesitant. They feel more like guests than family. They hear us say over and over again to “make yourself at home,” but they do not really believe it. The environment is still foreign enough that they are shy, they hesitate to ask, and they thus miss out on some of the opportunities that UH Hilo has to offer.
In higher education, we refer often to “belongingness.” If no one in your family has ever been to college, you feel that you are not part of the “in” group. You’re afraid to ask a question because that might give others evidence that you truly do not belong. You “fake it till you make it,” though sadly some never quite feel at home here. Universities are pretty complicated bureaucracies. We work hard to get rid of jargon, make sure front-line staff can answer questions and that we are kind, patient, and caring. We try to be welcoming, but not all feel welcome.
The pandemic did not help. Many of our faculty became quite adept at making human connections in online classes, but we still feel a profound difference when we are here in person, when we know the person to whom we are talking is actually paying attention, and we can make eye contact.
As we welcome students back to another semester, I once again invite them to “raid the cupboard,” get what they need, and help one another along the way as we make sure we hold the door to the cupboard open wide so that everyone feels at home.
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her column appears monthly in the Tribune-Herald.
