<p>At orientation and already sick of the RU jokes. If the leaders can't stop making jokes about Rutgers, how can we expect others outside of Rutgers to not make jokes at our expense? Anyone wondering if they should go to orientation, don't bother. Bunch of skits and games. You don't really learn anything you don't already know if you have common sense. I shouldn't walk home alone at 3am? Really? I never would have guessed. This should have been done in one day at most. RU, RU, Rah, Rah. Rah...</p>
<p>Coming from a former RU orientation leader…before you advise others not to attend orientation keep in mind that although you may already know a lot about Rutgers, a lot of people are uninformed and the comprehensive information provided at orientation is meant to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Yes there are games, designed for you to get to know some people so that maybe you’ll have some friends when you get here. I know that a lot of people are coming to RU along with a bunch of others from their highschool but there are also out of state and international students who have never been here before and for them the experience is invaluable. The skits are there so that you can get information about Rutgers without somebody reading it to you from a handbook. Yes, they may be cheesy but the orientation team is working really hard to try and make you have fun and learn something as well. Have you been to the resource fair yet? That’s where you will find out a lot about the departments and services that Rutgers offers. No one is going to hold your hand here, so if you need assistance of any form it is going to be up to you to get it. It would be smart to take advantage of orientation where all the information is layed out for you and you have a number of people you can ask questions to right at your finger tips. I hope things change and that you are able to enjoy at least some of your orientation experience. Keep in mind that you will be asked to fill out a survey afterwords, and that is where you can leave your constructive criticism so that it will effect future sessions.</p>
<p>About the inappropriate jokes…I’ve notified the director of orientation. Hopefully she will speak to the staff about what is acceptable, sometimes they just need a friendly reminder. It’s easy to get caught up in the casual atmosphere of orientation. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.</p>
<p>I went to orientation on the 19th, and it was great. I’m even more excited to attend Rutgers this fall.
I understand your boredom troy12. Yeah, the skits were cheesy (although SCREAM was quite jarring), and the RU puns stopped being funny (RU all readyyy? ha. ha…). I was already quite informed about Rutgers before orientation, even with Sakai, WebReg, etc. Personally, there was no new information given at orientation. But there were people who had no idea about things like nextbus, or the night walker, or even that assault is possible on the campus.</p>
<p>But getting informed is not the entire point of orientation. The point is to meet people, to get into the college spirit, to get a taste of living in a dorm for one night if you haven’t experienced that before. I meet great people during those two days, people who I’m still talking to several days later. </p>
<p>Talk to people, live a little, and believe me, you’ll love it.</p>
<p>I personally had a great time at the orientation when I went in early July. Some of the presentations and lectures were really boring, but I got to meet a lot of great people from New Jersey since I’m out of state and outside from my uncle and cousins up in North Jersey, I practically knew no one from NJ in person and I also found the games to be really fun. My school spirit definitely went up as a result of going to orientation and really made me appreciate the unique history and reputation behind Rutgers more than I did before I went, even though that was one of the many factors that attracted me to RU.</p>
<p>Staying in the Lynton Towers also gave me a much better idea of what I’ll need to bring when I move in September, especially a fan since a lot of the first year dorms don’t have air conditioning.</p>