At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, it is 42 degrees outside. Most students have just been forced from their beds, and they avoid eye contact as they rush between classes.

Junior information studies major Tony Bartocci stands in front of the Tolley Administration Building and addresses four prospective Syracuse University students and five of their parents. Bartocci, like most tour guides, is getting ready to give his group the incredibly enthusiastic overview of SU. As a tour guide, he’s paid to be an expert on the university and to portray campus in a positive light. However, disinterested students and overzealous parents make his job a challenge.

‘This job isn’t really about the paycheck for me,’ Bartocci said. ‘I really like giving people a better impression of Syracuse.’

The visiting students stuff their hands in their pockets and gaze at their watches. The parents anxiously straighten their coats and scarves, their eyes never leaving the guide.

Bartocci is clad in a bright orange jacket and prepares for the cold, hour-long trek from the Hall of Languages to the Schine Student Center, Bird Library and College Place. Finally, they circle through the Quad back to Tolley.

Bartocci struggles to raise his voice over the grinding of construction at Crouse College. His voice is barely audible.

‘It’s not always this loud,’ he says. ‘I promise.’

The parents nod and laugh nervously, as if admitting they can’t hear would hurt their children’s chances at an acceptance letter. They follow slowly behind Bartocci, who is walking backward toward the Hall of Languages and assuring the group that the construction will make the campus a better place.

Back at Tolley, another group is just entering their information session. In an hour, they will leave for the daily 11:30 a.m. tour. Another group will leave at 3 p.m.

These student-led tours, held three times a day on weekdays and at 11 a.m. on Saturdays, give prospective students an idea of the campus layout. But admissions officer Charlotte Tefft says they have a more important function.

‘The tour guides are not there to talk about admissions requirements or just to point out buildings,’ Tefft said. ‘Their job is to showcase and personalize the campus.’

Out on his tour, Bartocci has moved past the Hall of Languages toward Schine and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His group’s morale has shifted during the past 15 minutes. One young man, dressed in khaki slacks and a black leather jacket, has completely lost interest. He swings his coat tails as he stares off in the direction of Food.com. A boy beside him feigns interest and picks at a piece of lint on his black North Face fleece. His mother tries to make up for her son’s embarrassing behavior by nervously repeating the end of every sentence.

‘So, as you can see, we’re very health conscious here at Syracuse,’ Bartocci says, pointing towards the Health enter.

‘Hmmm … conscious,’ says the worried mother, nodding.

Bartocci starts to herd the group into Schine.

‘You guys are a good audience,’ he says as he moves up the stairs.

Once inside, he describes the perks of the student center. He points towards the Panasci Lounge.

‘It’s a good place for students to get away from the hustle and bustle down here and have a quiet place to get work done,’ he says. The parents nod approvingly.

One student sits in a corner of the lounge and hurriedly scribbles in her notebook before rushing downstairs. Twelve students are sleeping, three are reading The Daily Orange and four are playing games on their cell phones.

Bartocci finishes his speech in the atrium.

‘Questions? Questions?’ He scans the audience. ‘Anyone?’

Blank stares and polite smiles.

‘Alright, then let’s keep going.’

Other tour guides have experienced the same frustrating indifference from their groups.

‘A lot of visitors just have blank faces,’ said senior architecture major and tour guide Todd Rubin. ‘They don’t want to be there.’

It’s often difficult to keep tour groups entertained, Rubin said. The admissions office must ensure that the tour guides are up to the task of conversing with shy or apathetic visitors, so application process is intense and complicated.

There are two different ways to become a tour guide. One option is to apply for University 100, a group that gives tours, helps with Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw’s events and speaks on university panels, Rubin said. The application process requires a personal interview and several essays.

Students with work study can apply to be paid tour guides. Once any applicant is accepted, their tour guide training is the same.

The new guides are required to trail a current guide to learn the ropes of touring. They have to study a manual full of important facts about SU and prepare to diplomatically address uncomfortable questions.

Bartocci’s tour is almost over now. He has moved through the library and is passing Slocum Hall, followed by his small group.

‘Now this is the unscripted, ‘Tony’ part of the tour,’ he says. One young girl looks up, interested. ‘What really drew me into the school were the people.’

‘After orientation, you would have to be living somewhere in a box or a closet not to meet new people,’ he continues. ‘It’s small enough here that we don’t lose that personal touch.’

The worried mother smiles as her son’s attention strays. ‘Personal touch.’

Published on October 27, 2003 at 12:00 pm