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About the Customs Program

Customs is arguably Haverford's oldest tradition. Its roots reach back to the mid-1800s when upperclassmen spontaneously began keeping the peace in Barclay (the first dorm) by quieting the rowdy underclassmen and teaching the new students the 'customs' of the College (which, at that time, usually took the form of tossing the them head-first into the Duck Pond; some students now-a-days feel that we should return to this long-lost "tradition). The modern program is, however, above such draconian "welcoming" tactics and now seeks to provide the support and resources that many, but not all, entering students need to make a smooth transition from high school to college.

Today, Customs is about community, not conformity. It's about getting along with and learning about our differences; it's not about telling anyone that they have to be a certain way to fit in here. It's about giving each other the space to settle in and begin the college-experience. It's about both learning and teaching from each other's differences and from each other's backgrounds. It's about thinking about and engaging each other in fun and interactive ways that promote a healthful community. It's about helping first-year students figure out what they want to do and how they can get there. At least, philosophically speaking it is. Customs is huge. Customs is one of the few common experiences that all 'Fords can look back on and discuss jovially when they bump into each other in a Katmandu bar 30 years from now. Every student shares the Customs experience, and like the Honor Code, everyone has a different opinion about it (including those who feel the program is a little too socialistic for their tastes). In some sense, Customs is an important part of the glue that brings the community together by providing that common base of experience. Yet in another sense, it's nothing more than a support network put in-place to help students if they need it. What one can be safe in saying, however, is that Customs is a yearlong program that involves nearly 200 students supporting, in a multiplicity of ways, the first-year class in their transition from high school to college life at Haverford.

Most first-year halls or HCA buildings house between eight and sixteen first-year students (called Customs Groups) as well as a few on-hall resource people. Each Customs Group is supported by between six and eight upper-class students. Living on the hall are two Customs People (CPs). Upper-Class Advisors typically live on the hall as well, but a few Customs Groups share a UCA with another hall. The Customs Person's primary role is, if needed, to serve as an all-around support person to their Customs Group. The hall's UCA is a trained academic advisor who, along with the Faculty Advisor, facilitates the new students' navigation through Haverford's academic requirements.

Customs Groups are also supported by one or two Honor Code Orienteers (HCO), one Ambassador for Multicultural Awareness (AMA), and two Peer Awareness Facilitators (PAFs), each of which lives off the hall. HCOs are responsible for introducing and explaining the Haverford Honor Code to the first year students. AMAs heighten awareness and increase campus-wide participation in cross-cultural and multicultural programs, activities and understanding. PAFs facilitate a series of eight weekly Customs Group discussions about topics that Haverford students feel are particularly important to student life in college.

Under the umbrella of Customs reside the five distinct groups of support people (mentioned above, and affectionately grouped as 'Customs Folk'): Customs People, Honor Code Orienteers, Upper-Class Advisors, Ambassadors for Multicultural Awareness, and Peer Awareness Facilitators. Each of these five groups is selected and trained by a committee comprised, in all cases but for UCAs, entirely of students. In turn, each of the student-run committees is chaired by a student or pair of students, whose responsibility it is to oversee their portion of the Customs Program. The responsibility of overseeing the Program as a coherent entity falls primarily to the Customs Week Head(s).

For more information regarding the Customs Program, there are three primary resources. Interested parties can refer to this website (Customs Website at http://www.students.haverford.edu/customs); contact the current Customs Week Heads; or contact the administrative liaison to the program Dean Raisa Williams.