Media Credit: Scott Koenig/the Justice

For Prissy, Marco, Jenell, Natalee, Kenroy, Sophia, Emrold, Esther, Abbas, and Mimi -- My friends, the resonating voices in my life ...

I can start this article about Posse by giving you the history of 1981 and Deborah Bial, who founded this organization and the idea of sending a group of kids to college. I can tell you about our training in New York City before going to college, and about the workshops we did. I can also describe to you the importance of Posse and what it means to be a Posse member -- the responsibilities of each individual and the group. I can speak about diversity, the importance of leadership, and our goal to "improve the campus climate," by promoting cultural dialogue. Instead, I will refrain from the generic and the already spoken, and tell you the history of Brandeis Posse 1 and share with you our stories, as we graduate this year.

We sat in an unfamiliar gymnasium, in a circle, the 10 of us, with our mentor. This was the first week at Brandeis. We were scattered in clumps around campus for housing and came to our first meeting, followed by at least 50 more. The lights were dimmed and we sat alone in this place, each one remembering home and relying on the support of each other and the group. Our mentor, Mimi, conducted an intimate welcoming ceremony for us in Gosman, looking toward the future of 2002, our graduating year. We were sure the time of our graduation was too far ahead to even consider, never mind celebrate in this first meeting. We received our fake diplomas with our names printed in bold and always remembered the first time we met, for it was a solemn promise that we made to ourselves, a promise never spoken out loud but understood amongst us that we were to work hard and help each other in the next four years.

Our first year was difficult because we had to adapt culturally and academically to Brandeis. We were accustomed to a fast pace, survival-oriented environment, when sometimes graduating from high school meant simply avoiding the "bad crowds," the drugs, and the fights. As a group, we knew we had to struggle academically because we were not prepared for the challenges Brandeis had to offer; we knew that the city of Waltham and the campus were no where close to resembling our lives back at home.

The second annual Posse retreat was significant in creating the foundation for Posse 1, where we recognized the need to develop our voices on campus. Although we have been engaged in different activities on campus and gained leadership positions, started clubs and organizations, and maintained our academics, we seldom referred to Brandeis as our home. At this particular retreat, with Brandeis Posse 2 present, and many other Brandeis students discussing the issues on campus, we developed a strategy to "work out" these issues. That year our efforts to create a "better campus" were not visible but we involved many more people in this search for improvement.

Continued...

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