Scott BresslerThe Freshman Orientation Program is back in full swing this year, with both new, corporate-sponsored activities and old, time-tested traditions scheduled to welcome the incoming Class of 2011.
“The ultimate aim of Orientation is to assist students in their transition to Wash. U., to get them to know the resources that are on campus and to make them feel comfortable in their new environment,” said Danielle Bristow, director of Orientation and Parent Weekend Programs.
Many of this year’s new Orientation activities have been sponsored by corporations outside the University, allowing for bigger Orientation programs that don’t put strain on the University’s budget.
Sunday’s Target Night Out, a special event in which freshmen shopped for dorm-room items while enjoying free food and giveaways, was funded by Target; the free pizza students enjoyed after returning to their residential colleges was backed by Pizza Hut.
The WUTube iChallenge, an ongoing movie competition in which different dorm floors have been using camcorders and laptops to film and edit short movies, is being paid for entirely by Apple Inc.
Additionally, Freshman Orientation’s biggest new activity, Arch Extravaganza will rent St. Louis’ Gateway Arch from 7:00-11:00 p.m. on Friday, September 7. The event will feature a DJ, late-night access to the museum and free tram rides to the top of the Arch.
Upperclassmen who might think that this year’s Orientation is higher-budgeted than in past years can rest assured that the University is not devoting any more money than usual to this year’s activities.
“The Office of Orientation was not given any more funding than we have in the past,” said Bristow. “[Arch Extravaganza] is more of a University initiative that has been added to the Orientation program.”
Long-held rituals have also been repeated in this year’s Orientation, including the opening Convocation.
“Convocation is a lot of fun,” said sophomore and Orientation Ambassador Maryse Pearce. “I’d never experienced anything like it before. When my older brother went to another college a few years ago, they just gave him a key and let him go.”
According to Pearce, freshmen participating in Orientation traditions such as Convocation, Celebration in the Quad and Club 40 Dance “have it made.”
The majority of Orientation activities will conclude by Monday night.
Upcoming events include floor discussions for the Freshman Reading Program (7:00 p.m. Monday), the WUTube iChallenge film festival (Athletic Complex and Field House, 9:00 p.m. Monday) and the Movie on the Swamp (Swamp, 9:00 p.m. Tuesday).