Ask an OL Facilitation Guide
Materials needed:
• Pieces of paper
• Bag to put pieces of paper in
• Pens
Background of the session
After 4 packed days of orientation programming, adjusting to life at Bentley, soaking up so much new information, meeting tons of new people, AND so much more, we know that baby falcs may have lingering questions that haven’t been answered yet or hadn’t thought to ask previously. With that being said, we wanted to create a dedicated space on the last official day of the program to have baby falcs reflect on things they may still be wondering about and answer them!
As you can imagine, the questions likely fall in a wide range of everything from tips for navigating your first semester of classes, to how to navigate their social life outside of class and what students do for fun on the weekends. During this time, it is important we remind you and for you to remind your baby falcs that while it is a time to hear from a student’s perspective about the Bentley experience, it is not a time to discuss any knowledge you may have about activities or information that is against university policy. As student employees and Orientation Team staff members, it is important that we each recognize that we not only represent ourselves, but also the Orientation team and the University. In the facilitation guide below, we have outlined some examples of questions that we have deemed relevant to and appropriate for the “Ask an OL” discussion.
While we ask that in your discussion with your baby falcs you draw upon your personal Bentley experience, please be mindful of communicating that your experience at Bentley is just one experience and take opportunities (within reason) to highlight the knowledge you have of what other possible experiences are With that being said, please do not use this time to share rumors or information you have only heard through the grapevine
“Ask an OL” Session Facilitation Outline
1. Introduce the “Ask an OL” session
a. Explain the purpose and expectations of the session
i.After the first 4 days of life at Bentley, it’s likely baby falcs have some lingering questions about the Bentley experience. Whether it’s about academics, social life, etc. this is a space designed for baby falcs to gain a student’s perspective and hear about different experiences.
ii.Share with baby falcs that as a staff member you are unable to allow any discussions about activities that are against University policy. If they submit a question about university life that you cannot address as a staff member, you will have to skip over it.
iii.Although everyone in the group might not each have a bunch, if we’re also thinking about this as a period of reflection after orientation, each person has to have AT LEAST one thing they want to learn more about or have a question about. Challenge everyone to write at least one to hand in. They can write more than one as well.
b. Explain the outline of your time together
i.Distribute writing materials
ii.Give 5-10 minutes for everyone to think about what questions they may have & then hand out paper for students to write questions on
iii.Collect all folded up questions
iv.Give the group a 5 minute break to take a walk while you sort through the questions
v.Come back into the room at a designated time and begin discussion
vi.Work your way through all of the written questions
vii.Open the floor for people to verbally ask questions that may have arisen since the beginning of the session or that were sparked by hearing someone else’s question
2. Distribute materials
a. Each baby falc receives a small stack of paper strips
i.Encourage them to write only one question per piece of paper so that you as the orientation leader can eventually organize by topic
b. Give out writing utensils to anyone who does not have one
3. Give 5-10 minutes for baby falcs to think about and write down their question(s)
4. Collect all slips of paper with questions on them in a bag
5. Give baby falcs a 5-minute break for you to go through the questions
a. Tell baby falcs to be back in the room by a time 5 minutes from then
b. While baby falcs are out of the room please sort through all the submitted questions
i.Organize by topic
ii.Discard any questions that are inappropriate to address for Ask an OL and as a staff member
1. If you come across any questions that you cannot determine if they are appropriate to discuss, OAs and StuCos will be circulating so send a quick message or stop us in the hallway and we will try to get back to you asap! If you are in doubt about the level of appropriateness and if you can’t reach one of us while sorting questions, please discard the question.
c. Begin thinking about how you would respond to some of the questions
d. Wait until all baby falcs are back in the room to begin discussion
6. Begin sharing and answering the questions
7. After answering the last written question, with any remaining time, open the floor for people to verbally ask questions that may have arisen since the beginning of the session or that were sparked by hearing someone else’s question
a. If a baby falc asks a question verbally that is not appropriate for you to answer as a staff member, you are welcome to use the following response, “Unfortunately as an OL and staff member that works for the university, I am unable to discuss that question. Do you have any other questions that you would like to talk about?”
8. “Ask an OL” closing
a. Encourage baby falcs to continue to reach out with any questions they may have throughout the semester
Things to keep in mind
• If your group does not have a ton of questions and it doesn’t seem like you will fill the entire time, that is totally okay When things come to a natural end, you are welcome to move on to a different activity or take a break.
• The intention behind this session is not to act completely oblivious to the happenings of student life at Bentley. For example, if a student asks whether there’s usually parties on the weekend, you shouldn’t lie to them by saying say no, and you do not need to completely skip over the question if you do not want to. Parties/social gatherings are not inherently against university policy. What is important if you choose to answer a question like this is to keep in mind questions that are related to it For example, you may not cross the line as a staff member by answering questions on parties by saying that some students may choose to drink but there are many other students who choose not to and that party culture is not the only culture here at Bentley.
Sample APPROPRIATE questions to discuss:
• How do people join Greek life?
• How do you balance your social life and academics?
• What should I do if I’m struggling in a class?
• How do I build a good relationship with my roommate?
• How do I stay connected with my family/parents while also giving myself space?
• How did you make friends beyond orientation?
• How do people join clubs? How many and which ones should I join?
• What tips do you have for staying safe at a party?
• What is/how does the medical amnesty policy work/what should I do if I know someone needs help?
• Where can students get condoms and/or protection for safe sex?
• What things are there to do for fun on campus on the weekend/how do people typically spend their weekends?
• How often do people travel off campus (to go to Boston, Waltham, etc.) on the weekends to do things with friends?
Sample INAPPROPRIATE questions to discuss:
• How to or where to get/purchase or get alcohol and/or other drugs
• How to “get away with” breaking rules in residence halls or Bentley policies in general, including breaking academic integrity policies
• Which Fraternities/Sororities have “the best” or “the worst” reputations
• What stores/bars do students use fake IDs at?
It is important to note that some questions that may seem inappropriate to discuss can be answered in an appropriate manner For example, if you receive a question “where can I smoke on campus” an appropriate answer would be to let students know that Bentley is a smoke free campus and that marijuana use is also prohibited on campus Please answer questions honestly and based on your comfort level, but remember as an OL you represent Bentley.
• Do not answer a question you are unsure of! Always reach out to a staff member or re-direct the student to the department/office at Bentley they could get more information from