Orientation week

Orientation week is the first week of the academic year at a university or other tertiary institution, and a variety of events are held to help orient and welcome new students. It goes by a variety of names in different countries.

It is often accompanied by a wide range of social activities, including live music and other performance events, a large amount of drinking, sports challenges, stunts, and open-air markets.

Although usually described as a "week", the length of this period varies widely from university to university and country to country, ranging from about three days to a month or even more (e.g. four or five weeks, depending on program, at Chalmers). The length of the week is often affected by each university's tradition as well as financial and physical constraints.

Terminology

The week before the term starts is known as: "Frosh" (or "frosh week") in most colleges and universities in the United States/Canada; "Freshers' week" in the United Kingdom and Ireland and "Orientation week" or "O-week" in countries such as Australia and New Zealand. In Sweden, it is known as "nollning" (from "nolla", "zero", in this case meaning zeroth-year student, i.e., before the first university year starts) or "inspark" (being "kicked in" to university life). Orientation week is the coming phrase in the United States.

In the United States first year students are called freshmen, and are usually referred collectively to as "the frosh". In Canada, frosh is used in singular and plural form. In Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K. and Ireland first year students are known as "Freshers" or "first years". "Freshies" is also an emerging term in New Zealand.

Orientation week around the world

Australia

In Australia, some universities require students to arrive at university a week before classes start in order to gain course approval. This also allows students a chance to orientate themselves to student life without the pressure of lectures - hence the term "Orientation week" is used to describe this week of induction into university life.

In Australian universities, such as University of New South Wales and University of Sydney, the final night is usually celebrated with a large-scale event such as a famous band playing at an entertainment venue on campus. This is generally followed by continued partying and drinking, especially among students living in residential colleges.

The Adelaide University O-Week [http://www.adelaide.edu.au/student/new/oweek/timetbl/auu.html] runs from Monday to Thursday in the week before lectures begin. During O-Week sporting clubs and societies set up a variety of tented areas where clubs display their activities. The Adelaide University Union coordinates a variety of events centering around beer, bands and barbecues on the lawns near the Union complex. A major event for the week is the O-Ball (live entertainment and licensed areas) which takes place in the Cloisters (Union House). The O-Ball attracts many thousands of revellers, not all of whom are Adelaide University students. In recent times Sports and Clubs have sought to distance themselves from the student union and student association controlled activities and have set themselves up on the Maths lawns.

Canada

In Canada, many of the traditions associated with "O-Week" are similar to those in the United States. The nature and length of orientation week varies considerably between Universities. For instance, Canada's capital, Ottawa, has two universities within its urban centre; the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, one with a designated orientation period of 2 days, and the other of 7 days. In Ontario, the University of Western Ontario has a 7 day long Orientation week. Involving over 800 student volunteers, Western's O-Week is also completely alcohol-free and considered the largest and most expensive program of its kind in Canada. In the province of Quebec, because of the CEGEP system, "froshies" are of legal drinking age. Therefore, Frosh activities in Quebec contain organized pub crawls, drinking games, and D.U.S.T.E.D.. Moreover, the proximity of the two Ottawa universities also allows them to take advantage of the drinking age in neighboring Hull, Quebec.

Finland

In Finnish universities, the student organizations for each department independently organize orientation activities for the new students in their respective departments. New students are often assigned in groups to an upperclassman tutor and participate in many activities with their tutoring group. New students may be referred to as "piltti" (child), "fuksi" (freshman), "fetus" or other names according to their major subject. Activities for new students may include "orienteering", pub crawls, sporting events, swimming in fountains or other forms of "baptism", sitsit parties and saunas. It is also considered important for the new students to participate in the regular activities of the student department organizations.

Indonesia

Hazing is a main aspect in Freshmens' orientation (or "OSPEK"). A typical orientation may consist of verbal harassment as well as initiation leading to humiliation. What makes orientation in Indonesia distinctive to other countries would arguably be the freshmens' requirement to wear unusual accessories (i.e. Freshmens were asked to wear hats made of bird's nest or necktie made of folded paper). Harsh physical punishments were not uncommon during the Suharto era, and mass media continues to report inhumane activities during those orientation. Nowadays orientation is more tolerable as physical abuse is forbidden but it is still criticized by many parents for being economically inconvenient and by many psychologists as 'too much' because of excessive verbal harassment. The 'cruelty' of "ospek" varies between universities in Indonesia. [http://www.indrani.net/index.php?q=2007/04/plonco_ospek_hazing]

New Zealand

As in Australia, in New Zealand students have a week to orient themselves to university life before the start of formal classes. This "orientation week" is a time for many social events.

In New Zealand's main university towns such as Dunedin and Palmerston North (where students make up around one fifth of the population) orientation week leads a wide range of events. Many top overseas and local bands tour the country at this time, and the orientation tour is one of the highlights of the year's music calendar. The University of Otago in the Scottish-settled city of Dunedin traditionally holds a parody of the Highland Games called the "Lowland Games", including such esoteric events as porridge wrestling.

Student pranks were once common during orientation week, but have fallen out of favour in recent years. Hazing is still, however, performed among halls of residence as an induction for new residents, though it is not generally known by this name and is usually called "initiation".

Although officially designated as a week, in several New Zealand universities and polytechnics orientation week stretches to over ten days.

weden

Most Swedish universities have some kind of "nollning". This is most extensive at the technical faculties and at the student nation communities of Uppsala and Lund. Since student union membership is mandatory in Sweden, the nollning is usually centrally organized from the student union.

At the old universities, these traditions have often turned civilized after a dark history of hazing. Today, many student unions have strict rules against inappropriate drunkenness, sexual harassment and other problems which might have occurred in the old days.

At the technical faculties, the people who organize the nollning play roles in a theatrical manner and often wear sunglasses and some form of weird clothes. Most senior students who are mentors during the nollning wear their student overalls or the b-frack (a worn tailcoat). This kind of well-organized nollning has developed at KTH and Chalmers and spread to the rest of the country. Nollning is often thought to be most advanced and organized at the Uppsala Institute of Technology at Uppsala University and Linköping Institute of Technology at Linköping University. Incidentially, Linköping is also the university that has the most widely spread use of student-overalls.

Nollning is also arranged at many of the Gymnasiums.

In 2007 a 16-year-old girl nearly died during her nollning. When she was found she had a blood alcohol level of 3.64 permille. [http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1298&a=690850] The Stockholm Municipal Commissioner for Schools Lotta Edholm wants to be able to move the responsible to other schools. Common crimes during nollning is alcohol peddling, illegal threats, sexual harassment and assault and battery. [http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=1298&a=691093] Minister for Schools Jan Björklund demand action from police, teachers and parents. [http://www.dn.se/DNet/jsp/polopoly.jsp?d=147&a=690607]

Thailand

In Thailand, the activity called "Rabnong" (รับน้อง). It is the first week or month of the academic year at universities. The activity purpose is to new students to university culture. Sometimes there is also hazing and fagging during the orientation week as well. In 2005, a Thai student committed suicide with the cause. [http://www.dmh.go.th/sty_libnews/news/view.asp?id=2011 th icon]

United Kingdom and Ireland

As well as providing a chance to learn about the university, "Fresher's week" allows students to become familiar with the representatives of their Student Union and to get to know the city or town which is home to the university, often through some form of pub crawl. Live music is also common, as are a number of organised social gatherings, especially designed to allow freshers to make new friends and to get to know others doing the same course (see traffic light ball). Because of the intensity of activities, there are often many new friendships made, especially in group accommodation, some which don't last past Freshers Week and others that will stick for the whole University career and longer.

Typically a "Freshers' Fair" for student clubs and societies is included as part of the activities to introduce new students to facilities on offer, typically outside their course of study, such as societies, clubs, sport, etc. The various societies and clubs available within the University have stalls and aim to entice freshers to join. Most campuses take the opportunity to promote safe sex to their students and sometimes offer leaflets on the subject and free condoms, as well as promoting the Drinksafe campaign. The aim is to lower the rate of sexually transmitted disease and to reduce the drunkenness that is common to Freshers' Week.

United States

"Frosh" is the traditional term for first year students arriving at school. In Texas, the term "fish" is also used. The week is their informal introduction/inauguration to the institution. The first year students are led by fellow students from upper years over the course of the week through various events ranging from campus tours, games, competitions, and field trips. Despite the fact that most first year students are below the legal drinking age, heavy drinking and binge drinking are quite common during the week.

In many colleges, incoming freshman are made to perform activities in order to earn their freshman status (e.g. the wearing of beanies, singing of songs, group physical activities, etc.). These activities are often done to form a bond between the incoming freshman, their classmates, and the upper classmen.

Pulling pranks during the week is expected and almost encouraged. The majority of programs require their organizers to sign waivers stating they will not be under the influence of any substances over the course of the week as they are responsible for the well-being of the students. Most programs have one final party or "kegger" on the final night to finish off the week of celebrating, in which the organizers join in.

Although it has been officially banned at many schools, "hazing" is not uncommon during the week. This can be anywhere from the organizers treating the first years students in a playfully discouraging manner to forcing them to endure rigorous trials.

The attitude of the events also depends on the school. Some schools view their week as an initiation or rite of passage while others view it as a time to build school spirit and pride. In towns with more than one university, there will typically be a school rivalry that's reflected in the events throughout the week.

At some schools, incoming freshmen arrive at the school for a couple of days during the summer and are put into orientation groups lead by an upperclassmen trained for the position. Their Orientation Leader will take them around campus, do activities with them, have discussions with them, help them register for the next semester's classes and make them feel comfortable about coming to school in the fall.

Further reading

* cite book
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=XxsoTrTbRtUC&client=firefox-a
title=College Survival
author=Greg Gottesman, Daniel Baer
year=2004
publisher=Peterson's
page=41
isbn=0768914442
* cite book
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LkQyGoCSbQcC&client=firefox-a
title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to College Survival
author=Laurie Rozakis
year=2001
publisher=Alpha Books
page=16
isbn=0028641698

See also

* Hazing

References