I have participated in the Wilderness Project (WP) Pre-Orientation program for the last two summers, last summer as a freshman and this summer as a leader. During WP, incoming freshmen embark on a weeklong trip filled with team building and social justice-themed activities, as well as several days of backpacking or rock climbing in the subtly beautiful wilderness of the Missouri Ozarks.

The WP community is not a large one compared to many organizations on campus. I can, however, say with great confidence that it is one of the most close-knit and supportive communities on campus, and it is extraordinarily important to students who are a part of it. Because of its small size, the important service that WP provides to freshmen is largely under the radar. Still, it is hard to underestimate the importance of a program that makes such a difference in the lives of its students. Unfortunately, year in and year out, the University manages to do just that.

There are several ways in which the University creates unnecessary hurdles for WP. One example is the Orientation Office’s requirement that Wash. U. alumni be present every night at the base camp that we set up in the Ozarks. The theory is that we need an alumnus—any alumnus—with us in case of emergencies. In reality, this is not true: As leaders, we all took a 16-hour wilderness first aid course, and several of our leaders had more advanced wilderness first responder training. We also spent significant amounts of time preparing and rehearsing a detailed emergency plan. Our leaders are far more prepared to handle a wilderness emergency than an alumnus whose only distinction is taking 120 credits of classes from Wash. U.

In addition to being unnecessary, this requirement is extremely difficult to meet. Finding alumni willing to drive six hours round trip and camp out in the middle of a workweek is very difficult, to say the least. This year, we struggled throughout the summer and finally found enough alumni to cover the week.

Another smaller but relevant difficulty that the University creates for WP is not providing food for the leaders during the three days in August when they are on campus to prepare for the trip. This means that leaders who are already donating 10 days of their summer to a program that benefits the University have to spend their own money to lead the program. I was happy to donate my time to help be a part of such a great program, but getting hit with this surprise was very frustrating. My fellow leaders and I could not even tap into our meal plans early; we simply had to pay cash for food. This is a problem that must be addressed, perhaps in the same way that the school gives leaders of the WUSA program a free meal card for the week they are on campus early.

From talking to the leaders who have had the most interaction with the Orientation Office, it is clear to me that WP is viewed almost as a liability and a nuisance. It is only through the sheer will and enthusiasm on the part of the leaders that the program survives and thrives each year. Yes, we run a risky program, but we do everything possible to manage those risks, and the result is a very safe and well-run experience. Perhaps the Orientation Office should talk to some of the freshmen who went on WP and realized that WP is not a nuisance but a meaningful and valuable program that ought to be supported with all necessary resources.