The Editorial Board would like to commend the fall 2014 Orientation staff for the new changes to this year’s program. These changes include eliminating the Peer Ambassador (PA) program and replacing it with the First Year Mentor (FYM) program, as well as building a new organizational structure to address the traditional chaos of past move-in days. These adaptations, among many others, have vastly improved the Orientation program.
We all remember the chaos of our first day at Hopkins under the old program. We struggled to find meetings in buildings we didn’t know and often found ourselves hopelessly lost. Furthermore, many of us did not even attend all of the voluntary Orientation events. We assumed and accepted that Orientation was as much our personal responsibility as it was the school’s. The new program, however, addresses many of these issues and gives our new students a warmer welcome to all aspects of life at Hopkins.
The most striking feature of this year’s FYM program is a new, condensed meeting schedule. PA sessions used to meet once a week, and naturally, attendance fell off very quickly after the first or second meeting. The new FYM program offers similar informational meetings in a significantly tighter time frame. The Class of 2018 had the majority of their meetings during the Orientation period itself. Meeting attendance this year skyrocketed, and as a result, First Year Mentors had more of an opportunity to help our new students adjust to college life.
The Editorial Board was in accord that the new Orientation staff seems to have struck the right balance between overbearing and laissez-faire. Had they included too much programming, overwhelmed first-year students might eschew the rigid structure imposed upon them — not enough programming and students wouldn’t receive the necessary information that the program was crafted to provide. This year’s Orientation program struck a balance between the two and gave students just the right amount of unstructured time to enjoy their freedom, yet still provided enough programming to convey a wealth of relevant information about all aspects of college life.
This should not be taken as a criticism of previous Orientation programs; all the members of the Editorial Board have very fond memories of our first weeks at Hopkins. Additionally, we were pleased to find out that many of the speakers and events we enjoyed in the older programs continued this year. Put simply, we appreciate how hard the new staff has worked to develop solutions to logistical mishaps that were not previously recognized as important issues.
Even if the new Orientation staff didn’t solve all the problems of the old program, they certainly gave it a noble attempt and took many steps in the right direction. We look forward to seeing this progress continue in next year’s Orientation program.
