Customs
Customs Week is an exciting student-run orientation program that takes place during the first five days of every student’s first year. The Customs experience continues throughout the entire first-year in what students commonly refer to as their “Customs Groups.”
Customs is arguably Haverford's oldest tradition, as it goes 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. The modern version of Customs seeks to provide the support and resources that many entering students need to make a smooth transition from high school to college. After the short, albeit comprehensive, five-day Customs Week, the Customs experience continues in Customs Groups with students participating in discussions, taking trips, and learning how to actively participate in student self-governance.
Most first-year halls or HCA buildings house between twelve 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 nine upper-class students. Living on the hall are two or three Customs People (CPs) and Upper-Class Advisors (UCAs) 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 (PAF), each of whom live 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 weekly Customs Group discussions about topics that Haverford students feel are particularly important to student life in college.
Customs is about community, 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 at Haverford. It provides students with the space to settle in and begin the college experience. Customs is something that all Haverford students share; it’s an important part of the glue that brings the community together by providing that common base of experience.