The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 25, 1994, Page 7, Image 7
Michigan fre
CoHeoe Press Service
Kalamazoo, Mich. ? Margaret Skwira was
hungry, grimy, exhausted and cold. It had
been three weeks since she had talked on the
telephone, taken a hot shower or slept on a
mattress. For the past two days, her only companions
had been a jug of water, a journal and
an occasional passing deer.
Yet far from feeling lonely or desperate,
Skwira was serene and content, she recalls,
as she rolled ud her sleeriincr bacr and headed
back to camp to join her fellow classmates. After
all, she had just made it through her freshman
orientation.
While most students wouldn't consider orientation
to be either'a personal accomplishment
or a highlight of their college experience,
students at Michigan's Kalamazoo College
could be the exception.
Since 1975, Kalamazoo College has offered
the "Land/Sea" program for entering students,
an optional outdoor orientation that includes
hiking, rock climbing, canoeing and sailing.
Modeled after Outward Bound, the orientation
enables first-year students to experience
the trials and triumphs associated with three
weeks of roughing it in the Michigan and
Canadian woods.
Kalamazoo College administrators admit
that having students fend for themselves in
the remote wilderness is a unique way to prepare
students for college life. But they say the
"Land/Sea" program offers incoming freshmen
the chance to form close bonds with a diverse
set of students while encouraging indi
Tiuuai i oopuiioiuini/jr anu pi uuicm ouiving.
The idea is to offer a support group to the
student coming out of high school," says Tom
Breznau, the program coordinator. "If s an incredible
physical and emotional challenge, so
it automatically builds a network of friends
and supporters who are not only on the trip
together but will be attending school together
as well."
This year, Breznau will be taking 60 incoming
Students on the trip, along with 15
current Kalamazoo students who will serve
as group leaders.
The leaders are people who have experienced
the liand/Sea' option themselves and
are excited to have a chance to help others
with it," says Breznau. "For someone to come
hark and bain on a trin that pan ha on intanaa
is a reflection of how productive this program
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"I always loved the outdoors. I figured
It would be something kind of
new and Intimidating. As long as I
was In the mode of going away to
school, I figured I'd try something
new."
Michigan freshman Margaret Skwira
can be."
Arrortiincr tn Rro7rian tVio afnrlartta moof
at Kalamazoo on a Friday evening, then take
a bus 650 miles north to Killarney Provincial
Park in Ontario, where they divide into
groups of 15 and meet with group leaders.
The park encompasses more than 84,000
acres and is home to many species of wildlife,
including deer, owl, porcupine, fox, hawk, otter,
beaver and blue heron. At the orientation
site, pine-covered hills surround pristine lakes
and rivers. "If s breath-taking," says Breznau.
"When the students first get a glimpse at the
area, their faces light up."
As stunning as the environment is, it can
be strewn with difficulties for the novice outdoorsmen.
So, Kalamazoo officials make sure
that the leaders of each group have spent sufficient
time training for any potential acci
dent, from the mildest to the most severe. So
far, there haven't been any problems on the
trips, adds Breznau.
Students who sign up for the "Land/Sea"
option are told to get in shape for the session,
especially those "that have led a rather
sedentary life during the summer," according
to the "Land/Sea" handbook. Participants
are asked to prepare for canoeing and
climbing with pushups and pull-ups and are
instructed to jog with their hiking boots on
to prepare for the intense climbs ahead of
them. To prepare for the various lakes and
rivers, students are told to be prepared to
stay afloat in water for at least 30 minutes.
The first 17 days of the orientation are
spent experiencing all the the Canadian
wilderness has to offer. Instructed to bring only
the essentials, the groups embark with just
the bare necessities. "They have their gear, <
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for the 15 of them to sleep under at night," 1
says Breznau. "We give them just the basics." i
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Nursing sophomore Mark Lee consults Th
Students spend six days sailing on a brig
antine across the Great Lakes and Georgian
Bay, five days canoeing on the park's inland
waters and four days hiking and climbing.
On the final two days of the trip, students
participate in "solos," where they are separated,
given water and spread out around a
lake. "We encourage them not to take anything
with them but a journal," says Breznau.
"Ifs a great way for students to get in touch
with their basic feelings and to reflect on the
past two weeks."
For those who go on the trip, the experience
pays off. "It could be called a vacation,
but not a relaxing one, where you sit on the
beach all day and vegetate," says Kalamazoo
jtudent Darrell Jones, who went on the
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"Land/Sea" in 1991. "It's a vacation away from S
the normalities of our world today. Ifs a time ol
to explore unseen beauties of our world and "1
also in yourself." u
Melissa Fry agrees. "I have learned more in
aboufmyself in the past two weeks than I g<
ever knew existed," she wrote in her journal th
on the final day of her "LandTSea" orientation
in 1993. "Most of all, I leave this trip with a tii
new attitude towards the challenges that I ai
may face in my future. This is a beautiful "I
world, and I look forward to more adventures, re
not with fear, but with excitement and en- of
thusiasm for the unknown." to
Skwira first went on the "Land/Sea" ori- &
entation option in 1991. While most students ge
opted for the school's normal orientation,- yo
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kwira decided she was up for the challenge
F spending three weeks in a natural habitat,
always loved the outdoors," she says. "I figred
it would be something kind of new and
itimidating. As long as I was in the mode of
)ing away to school, I figured I'd try somering
new."
Skwira, like most other "Land/Sea" par:ipants,
found the experience well worth it
id had been back as a group leader twice,
lie trip really builds independence and selfliance,"
she says. "It was an invaluable part
my college education because it pushed me
do something I never thought I could cfo.
/eryone needs to count on everyone else to
t through. It's a great lesson for the rest of
ur life."
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