Since I was young, my main mode of understanding the world was through listening to sounds.
I listened to birds chirping in the early morning, cicadas in the dead of night, footsteps going up the stairs in my home, instruments whenever the school band or orchestra played, vehicles as I walked through the downtown of my hometown, and most of all, people.
I was so excited to experience a new world at Swarthmore College in the way I knew best—through sound!
The first sound I heard when I stepped on Swarthmore’s campus was a residential assistant from Wharton Hall exclaiming, “Welcome to first year move-in!”.
When a new Swattie first arrives on campus for orientation, there’s a whole team of residential peer leaders (RPLs) ready to help first years move into their dorm. RPLs will carry fridges, mirrors, rugs and whatever else three flights of stairs while asking questions such as “Where are you coming from? Did you have time to visit Swarthmore before today? How are you feeling about college?” Moving away from home can bring up a wide range of emotions, but having people excited and welcoming makes all the difference.
The first night of orientation, I heard people chatting outside, the slight breeze against the tree leaves ,and the peaceful silence after everyone had gone back inside their dorms. Those sounds will always stick with me, and sometimes, I am reminded of them when walking back to Wharton Hall on a spring evening.
Since that first night, I’ve listened to many other sounds at Swarthmore.
One example is a classic Swarthmore tradition: the Primal Scream. This is an annual event when the dining center serves breakfast at night and everyone screams at midnight to release the stress of the beginning of finals. It’s loud, piercing, and SO fun. All the stress and anticipation goes away in that moment when you can just scream alongside your classmates and forget about that organic chemistry final. Even across class years and different majors, we all join as a community to just yell out loud.
On weekends, while sitting outside Kohlberg Hall, it’s quite common to hear the laughter of families taking photos on the big chair or people taking prom photos with the Rose Garden as the background. No matter where you are on campus, you (and whoever you’re calling on the phone) will hear the sounds of the bell tower ringing every fifteen minutes.
Another example happened recently when my professor took students out on a morning outing (5:30 am) in Crum Woods to experience the dawn chorus, a period of intense singing by birds during sunrise. As I left my dorm at 5:20 am, it was just my footsteps and the seemingly overwhelming sound of birds chirping. We ventured out into Crum Woods, stepping on crunchy leaves and sticks while making our way to a log to sit on. Then, for about two hours, all we did was listen to the birds, from flickers to white-throated sparrows. It felt like no time had passed until the sun had risen and it was time to leave.
I walked out of this experience becoming much more appreciative and grateful of the sounds I am able to hear at Swarthmore.
While there are countless sounds that I could talk about during my time as a Swattie, these were just a few I believe capture some of Swarthmore’s essence.
