Am A Bentley Student And…
The goal of this session is to welcome your group into a conversation space in which (at their comfort level) baby falcs can share who they are, what they bring to the Bentley Community, and their feelings about starting this new journey. While we are all connected as Bentley Students, it’s important to acknowledge the intersecting identities and lived experiences that have shaped who we are as Bentley falcons and what our experience may be as we start this next chapter.
Introductions and Expectations (10 minutes)
Please have the FDS peer leader introduce themselves to the group and have the group do a quick name and pronouns. You will then want to ensure that students in your group are comfortable in the space and there are a shared set of expectations among group members.
If you have not done so already, please make sure that you brainstorm ground rules and expectations with your group. If you have already done this, please bring the list back up and ask for any additional expectations for people to able to participate in the space.
Examples:
• We live the Bentley Core Values
• One person shares at a time
• If someone shares a story, the lesson can leave the space, but the story and experience does not
• Be aware of your triggers
• Intent vs. Impact. If you say something that triggers someone, we encourage you to listen, apologize, repair, and learn. Even if that was not your intent, it may not always be the impact you anticipate.
• Seek to understand
• BAR method (Breathe, Acknowledge, Respond)
• Be an active listener
• Suspend judgement
This is a brave space setting where group members must hold one another accountable for adhering to expectations and respect the opinions of others. Stress the importance of community in building connections and understanding and explain that your o-group is a safe community.
Ensure that everyone agrees to the set expectations, and work to hold each other accountable. We want this to be a brave space for group members.
Part I: The Bentley Student (10 minutes)
Facilitators pose the following prompt to your group: “If you were asked to describe a “Typical” Bentley student, what might you say?” Ask students to share out, you can write responses on the whiteboard if available.
By doing this, it allows for the opportunity to bring up commonalities, differences, expectations, what they hope to get out of their time at Bentley, or possibly what stereotypes already exist for our students. You can say:
We are now going to think about the “Typical” Bentley Student. What comes to mind when you hear that? If you were asked to describe a Bentley student, what might you say?
Following the responses, utilizing the debrief questions to engage in further dialogue:
- What themes arose from the share out?
- Are those positive, negative or neutral attributes?
- Where do these ideas of what a Bentley Student is come from?
- Do we want to challenge any of these?
- What, if any, of these do you see in yourself or hope to in your time here
Part II: And…. (15 minutes)
Every year, we welcome a new class of students including first-years, transfers and exchange students into our community. Each time this happens, the image of a Bentley Student grows and changes. You are a Bentley Student. We are all Bentley Students AND we are so much more. In your self-guided learning program that you completed prior to Orientation you learned about identity and intersectionality.
As a reminder: here are two definitions for us to refer to:
Identity: Your identity is what it means to be “you” in a specific context. It can include the practices and categories you associate with as well as your goals, values, and interests.
Intersectionality: Intersectionality, a term originally coined by Kimberle Crenshaw, builds on the idea of multiple identities – where there are several important, defining aspects to a person’s identity. We can’t look at a person’s individual identities as separate; rather, the intersections of these identities are what truly shape a person’s experience and influence both their opportunities and challenges.
As we are thinking about our own identities, how they intersect, and our experience at Bentley, we’d like you to hear from a few other falcons about their experiences.
• Share the latest I’m a Bentley Student and video with group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqO5GJ4CfkM&list=PL4jncTO6oTQDX0xWtwtq8QsrujSu5yqs&index=11
At this point, we ask for facilitators to demonstrate filling in the prompt like the people in the video.
We encourage you to share both an example that may be less of a risk, and an example that is more vulnerable (within your level of comfort) so that students have examples. Follow up with:
• Share what this identity means to you and why it is important. Share what challenges and obstacles you may have experienced (at Bentley or beyond). If there are any ways that you have received support or connected that have enhanced your Bentley experience and why it is important to say you are a Bentley Student AND this/these identities.
Then pose this to your students
You are bringing all of your own identities into this community. You are ______ and you are now a Bentley Student. Each can bring its own challenges, rewards, connections and innovations to this community. So I invite you to share how you are a Bentley student and___?
Points to Stress
“I am a Bentley Student and…. ___________!”
- This is I am a Bentley student AND…. not BUT.
- By becoming a Bentley student, you are making what a Bentley Student is change and grow for the better.
- Have your training resources prepared if people bring up worries/concerns! Bentley isn’t perfect but it strives to be better. Where can we direct students to resources and people who can support them on campus.
If you need more question prompts:
- How has this identity played a role in your life? How do you think it will play a role here at Bentley?
- What excites you about being a Bentley Student?
Remember
• Keep your survival guide handy so you can refer your students to resources.
• Refer to your expectations throughout if people are not adding to your shared ground rules. For example, if someone says they stand with Black Lives Matter but someone else in the group stands with Blue lives Matter, then be ready to explain at Bentley, people here can have difference of opinions and it’s important to have dialogues when people have different opinions.
o Possibly reference the morning Keynote and the importance of dialogues across difference.
Part III: Starting at Bentley Activity (35 minutes Peer Leader)
Peer Leaders: Please pick up the following from Academic Services in Jennison 336 by 4:30pm Sept 1st:
• 2 blank posters
• Sheet containing the two questions for the exercise (rolled in with the posters)
• A bundle of markers.
Take these materials to your assigned classroom for training and have the students complete the group exercise consisting of the 2 questions:
“Now that we have looked at who we are in addition to Bentley Falcons, let’s look forward. At Bentley we have many built-in resources to help educate, celebrate, and support our community members. To better understand the resources and support to share with you we wanted to discuss how you are feeling as you prepare to start as a Bentley Falcon.”
Spend about 15 minutes discussing the two topics:
1. What students are most excited about when launching their college career at Bentley,
2. What their concerns might be about their college career at Bentley
We are going to design posters to display these reflections. One poster will be labeled “Excited About” and the other “Concerns” and have the students write their thoughts in legible handwriting using the colored markers.
Let the students know that these posters will be hung around campus for the community to view, so have them consider this when putting down their thoughts on the posters.
Once completed, the peer leaders will collect posters and will bring them back to Academic Services. The posters will be hung in the student center, stairwell in Smith, and hallways in Jennison.
Community Resources: Conclusion (5 minutes)
As you reflected on some of the pieces that you are nervous about its important to note that there are many resources here at Bentley to support you, and as you learned in your self-guided learning courses everyone can be an active member of the community and help each other out.
Throughout the next few days, you will have the opportunity to hear from our Office of Institutional Equity, Counseling, Conduct and Care, Community Wellbeing and Health Promotions, the Health Center, Academic Resource, and offices in our Student Equity and Inclusion team. These are a few of the community members you can assist you in navigating any challenges or concerns.
Additionally, your OL and Peer Leader will continue to be a support. If you are living on campus your RA is a great resource and if you went through the MOSAIC program your ambassador is another resource.
Remember you are not alone, and we are excited to help you thrive during your time at Bentley!
Thank everyone for being vulnerable and please remember the resources we discussed.
I want to thank everyone for engaging in this activity and sharing aspects of your lived experiences. Please remember that the stories stay within the group, but the lessons can carry forward. If at any point you have questions or aren’t sure where to go, please know you can always reach out to us and we also encourage you to continue learning more about each other and working to make Bentley a better place for everyone.