Frequently Asked Questions
Students must pass a two-part selection process in order to be selected to participate in SYI. First, all prospective students must fill out and submit the application online. The link to apply is at the top of this page. To request paper applications, please contact the Winter Institute (662-915-6734). After all applications have been received, the SYI staff will then select fifty students to move on to the phone interview stage. In groups of three to five, students will be asked a few questions about their expectations for SYI and any clarifications about their applications. After we have spoken with all fifty students, we will be able to accept only twenty-four students for the program.The number one criterion for acceptance into the program is enthusiasm! We are looking for students who are both passionate about making positive changes in their communities and enthusiastic about learning new skills and making new friendships. It is important that the students think carefully when writing their essays and answering questions over the phone. We are excited to get to know each of you, and we want to see that you are excited about SYI.
Patrick Weems is the Youth Project Coordinator for the Winter Institute. He can be contacted via email (phweems@gmail.com) or phone (662-915-6734).
How can parents participate?
The Summer Youth Institute is open only to rising sophomores and juniors (current freshmen and sophomores) in high school in Mississippi. Parents are welcome to follow the student blog during the fifteen days of the Institute and attend the final banquet ceremony on Sunday, June 24, 2012, but they can not participate in other activities or events. However, we do encourage parents to be a continuing source of support and inspiration for the students when they return home to enact their community projects.
What is the camper to counselor ratio?
The students are usually broken up into groups of four or five, led by one or two counselors. Additionally, there are several “floater” counselors who are not attached to a single group of students who contribute to the activities and take care of miscellaneous tasks.
What ages are the counselors?
Our counselors are college-aged and older, usually between 19 and 26.
How do you choose counselors?
Our counselors are young adults who are experienced in community organizing and service projects. Typically, counselors have worked with the William Winter Institute in the past, either as student interns at the University of Mississippi or as high school students who were active in their school communities. It is important that these counselors have experience as passionate community organizers because they are the very people who lead most of the activities and workshops.
What are the rooms like?
The students will share a room with one other person. Rooms usually include a desk, closet, and set of drawers, in addition to an XL twin-size bed, for each person. The residence hall in which the students will be staying has yet to be determined.
What about laundry?
The dormitories on campus have laundry rooms to which the students will have access.
Does my child need extra money?
Not necessarily. We will provide all meals and some spending money for snacks in the dorms and on campus. However, some students may want extra money to spend in the campus book store. Besides the book store, there will not be many opportunities for students to spend money. Students may wish to be bring quarters for laundry.
Where do the field trips go?
The students will travel to Philadelphia, MS, and Greenwood, MS, to learn about historical civil rights events that took place in those towns and to meet SYI alumni who have enacted their own community projects which they designed during past SYI sessions.
How can I get in touch with my child at the Institute?
Students will be allowed to use their cell phones only during breaks and free time. Frequently, we will ask students to hand in their cell phones during activities in order to ensure we have their undivided attention. When we are not busy with scheduled workshops and activities, we encourage students to keep in touch with their parents. In fact, the students will be asked to write blog posts about what they are doing at the institute, sharing poems and stories they have written and pictures they have taken. Parents can follow the students’ progress throughout the fourteen days on this blog.
How do you handle special dietary needs?
As long as we are informed in advance of any food allergies or vegetarian/vegan preferences, we can make proper arrangements for meals. Johnson Commons, the cafeteria on campus where we will eat many meals, does provide vegetarian options. We will work with students with other dietary restrictions to provide adequate food options.
When and where are drop-off and pick-up?
Parents or guardians will drop off their students at the University of Mississippi in Oxford on Sunday June 10, 2012. The exact time and dormitory location have yet to be determined. Parents are invited to the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson on Saturday, June 23, 2012, for the students’ presentations of their community action plans. The students and their belongings will be transported from Oxford to Jackson, where parents will pick them up following the final banquet ceremony.
How much does the Institute cost?
Due to a generous grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, the Summer Youth Institute is free of charge to all students.
What should my child pack?
* Clothes
* Clothes hangers
* “Church clothes,” i.e. dresses, slacks, skirts, etc. (optional)
* Comfortable walking shoes
* Tennis shoes
* Athletic pants/running shorts
* T-shirts
* Shower caddy
* Toiletries (i.e. toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, etc.)
* SHOWER SHOES – water shoes or flip flops
* Towels
* Pillow
* Sheets (twin, extra long)
* Blanket
* Alarm clock
* Snacks
* Laptop (optional)
* Ethernet card and cord (optional)
* Umbrella/Poncho
* Bathing Suit (if allowed to swim)
