Campus committed to orientation

Much more planning goes into new orientation than most students may realize. The Office of Student Life and Leadership starts preparing in February by setting the dates for the fall semester orientation dates and hiring a set of orientation leaders.

The hiring and planning phases are conducted by the Orientation Planning committee, which consists of three students and two faculty members from Student Life and Leadership.

"This year, we had 39 students as orientation leaders," Laura Jackson, Student Development Specialist, said. "OLs are paid $75 for the first two sessions, and if they complete a third or fourth session, they are paid $50."

The OLs also attend a retreat in May that helps them with team and communication skills.

Jackson said there is normally no need for all 39 students leaders to be at all four of the orientation dates however, there are a few of the OLs who show up anyway to be volunteers.

The night before the orientation is set to begin, the leaders meet for about four hours to discuss any changes, finalize the schedule for the next two days and discuss any other questions or topics.

The morning of orientation, the student leaders report at 7 a.m. to start setting up and wait for the first students to arrive.

The first orientation was offered in June. Additional sessions are set for July 16-17, Aug. 8-9 and Aug. 19-20.

"Even though orientation doesn't officially start until 11 a.m., there is always a few over-excited students who arrive at 8:30 a.m.," Jackson said. "The fourth session, which is the Thursday and Friday before school starts, is normally reserved for students and families who have to travel more than 300 miles to get to the University."

The OLs, along with other departments outside of Student Life and Leadership, do much more work in preparation for orientation than expected.

Every event that takes place during orientation must be reported to Campus Police with the number of people attending, where it will take place, and which doors need to be unlocked.

The Physical Plant must also be notified in advance to make sure all of the lights in the building are on and the air conditioner is running.

Also, if the pool or soccer fields are involved, the Herrington Patriot Center staff must be notified to make sure that their facilities are also prepared.

All OLs are required to read the freshman novel, "What is the What" by David Eggers, and volunteer at Patriot Welcome Week.

"The freshman novel is about a Sudanese immigrant and his journey about leaving his village with thousands of other children," Jackson said. "Valentino Achak Deng, the subject of the book, is scheduled to speak at freshman convocation during Welcome Week."

The movie "God Grew Tired of Us" will also be shown during Welcome Week, according to Jennifer Skinner, late night and weekend program planner for Student Life and Leadership.

"Iron Man 2 will also be showing for new students," Skinner said. "Ice cream and pizza will be provided ... it is first come, first served."