Extended orientation too much of a good thing

With the goal of getting freshmen better oriented to college life, the University extended New Student Orientation by adding on three extra days to make it a week long. The question now is: Did it work? By and large, the members of the Class of 2004 had mixed feelings about NSO. Many enjoyed some of the new events -- such as local tours and creative seminars -- but others felt that the seven-day process was too drawn out and somewhat confusing. "Overall, I thought it was too long," Engineering freshman Pat Pfeifer said. "It was good to get to know peopleS but I was anxious to get into the swing of [classes]." "I found it useful but sometimes it was boring and long," College freshman Eudes Fabre said. Others, however, did appreciate the length of orientation, since it enabled them to meet fellow classmates. "It turned out to be good," Engineering freshman Javier Benson said. "[You] get to have a very active social life without having to worry about classes." "A week is definitely good -- it gave us enough time to be comfortable around people," College and Wharton freshman Todd Rudnianyn agreed. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman said he was pleased with the longer time frame. "It had the right mix of academic and social components. I also believe that we created more timeS to do some serious academic advising for students." Beeman said the school is evaluating the effectiveness of the newly added advising. Overall, freshmen said they enjoyed the diverse program of events. Specifically, students praised the "Philly and You" tours -- group tours in which freshmen explore the city with their resident advisors and graduate associates. "[The tours] helped me think about the things I would do during the year," Rudnianyn said. He added that the tours also gave him the know-how of the area. "With the things we'd heard, we would never go past 40th Street," Rudnianyn explained. Now, he said, his hall became better informed following the advice of their tour guides. The "proseminars" -- small seminars of 15 to 25 students on various topics -- were also popular. "It was really neat," said College freshman Rajan Raval, who took a seminar on South Asian culture. "I got to meet a lot of people and it made me feel that there were a lot of people like me." Still, although many aspects of NSO were successful, there still are some kinks to work out. Many said that CUPID was overcrowded and confusing and some of the mandatory events weren't needed at all. "The first days were so hectic and confusing," College freshman Catherine Stocker said. "CUPID was a disgusting mess," added her roommate, College freshman Emily Wells. Several students also complained about the content of the safety seminars and academic integrity workshops -- two mandatory events of NSO -- saying that much of what was discussed was repetitive and common sense. "There were a lot of unnecessary things," College freshmen Ana Merlano said

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