UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 27, Page 1
April 15, 1993
Student hosts make most of visitors' time on campus

     Suzanne Marcus, a senior communication major, walks through the rain
toward Morris Library, followed by a tour of prospective students and
note-scribbling parents.
     "Morris Library has a collection of more than 2 million books and
21,000 periodical subscriptions," Marcus says, walking backwards to face
the group. "Basically, if there's something you want, it's in there; and if
it's not, they'll get it for you."
     It is 11 o'clock on a dreary Saturday morning-the kind of morning that
finds most Delaware students sleeping late- but Marcus is alert, peppy and
ready to sell her school.
     "I applied for a tour guiding position because I wanted to share my
experiences with people interested in coming to Delaware," she said, then
frowns adding, "but I didn't think I'd have to get up early on a Saturday
morning."
     Marcus is one of 50 active Blue Hen Hosts, student guides responsible
for showing off the University's assets to prospective freshmen and
transfer students and their families. More than 8,000 students and their
parents annually take advantage of this service, which is offered Mondays
through Saturdays.
     "What has to come through is a genuine enthusiasm for the University,"
said Faye Duffy, associate director of admissions and the person in charge
of the hosts.
     In their blue and gold windbreakers, the hosts guide their groups
around campus from Smith Hall to the Perkins Student Center, stopping
occasionally to point out a red phone for emergencies or to note that the
Scrounge serves an average of 23,000 people a week.
     Alyse Levine, a senior elementary education major and student
coordinator, said she considers tour guiding to be one of the most popular,
paying jobs on campus. "When people see tour guides, they say, `That looks
so cool. I could do that.' It's a great way to meet people."
     Students selected have to be outgoing and have good speaking skills,"
Levine said. "They must have no problem talking about their experiences
here."
     While the guides are expected to give facts and statistics about the
University, they often spice them up by relating the school information to
their personal lives.
     The anecdotes help color the hour-and-15-minute tours and give
visitors a more tangible reminder of the campus other than the dry facts,
Levine said.
     "It's important that the guides can think on their feet," Duffy said.
"They may have to answer difficult questions and handle themselves in
sticky situations."
     Each guide has his or her own methods of making certain Delaware
attributes stick in the visitors' minds after they have gone home.
     "We need to make sure they know Delaware isn't all lecture halls,"
said Marcus, who tries to show on her tours the smaller rooms in Memorial
Hall. "You want to give the impression that they won't go through their
whole college career in large classrooms."
     Hilarie Snyder, a junior business administration major, said the most
commonly asked question is about campus safety.
     "I tell my tours that the prominent crime is bike theft," she said.
     Levine said she also emphasizes campus security. "But," she continued,
"I add that just because you're here, doesn't mean you're in a bubble or
you're protected from crime."
     To be a Blue Hen Host, a student must be eager to go that extra mile
around campus.
     And Levine said, "It's great when after a tour someone comes up to me
and says: 'I definitely know now that I'm applying here.' "
                                        -Patti-Ann Zielinski