FUP| First-Year Urban Program

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how to apply Interested in applying to help lead FUP? Read on... What is FUP? The First-year Urban Program (FUP) is a week-long orientation to communities and community service opportunities in Cambridge and Boston for incoming first-year undergraduates (FUPpies). FUP supports and challenges FUPpies to look beyond the walls of Harvard and to see the issues that affect the urban community in which they will be spending their next four years. FUPpies, accompanied by experienced upper-classmen leaders (you perhaps!) and mentors, work with Cambridge and Boston area community members, the leaders of neighborhood service and activist organizations, and the leaders of the College's public service community. FUP's mission is threefold: to aid grassroots organizations in local communities; to catalyze the FUPpies' involvement in service and activism while at the College; and to orient the new students to Harvard, Cambridge, and Boston, while providing them with the opportunity to meet peers who share with them an interest in public service and activism. What do FUP leaders do? The responsibilities of a FUP leader are numerous. All leaders are required to arrive back at Harvard in late August to undergo a three-and-a-half day training period, during which time the full schedule of FUP 2003 will be explained. Leaders are split into groups of two or three and assigned six to nine FUPpies. Each group works at a different project site in Cambridge or Boston for the week. In past years, project sites have included Fair Foods in Dorchester, the Hawthorn Youth Community Center in Roxbury, and the Cambridge Furniture Bank. Work at the sites ranges from painting and cleaning to food preparation and weeding. During the evenings, all of the groups come back together at Harvard, where leaders will be assigned various organizational tasks. Leaders are also responsible for moderating conversations on issues of service, activism, identity, and social justice based on readings assigned to the FUPpies. In general, leaders are expected to share their experiences with FUPpies and to serve as mentors for the first-year students in their groups. What kind of people are we looking for to be FUP leaders? We are looking for a whole range of people with a diversity of experiences. In particular, we are looking for individuals who have displayed a strong commitment to service and activism and who are able to think critically about issues involved in such commitments. We also want people who are open and enthusiastic, and who desire to get to know and be a resource for first-year students in their difficult transition process. You need not have participated in FUP before to be a leader! How do I become a FUP leader? Fill out your application! Applications for FUP 2008 are due on February 14th, 2008. How can I get an application? Applications will be available at the Freshman Dean's Office, and you can also download an application in Word format here.

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