James Madison University - Bluestone Schoolmaam Yearbook (Harrisonburg, VA)

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Hoppin inNoTime Orientation team acquaints ' tadpoles ' with campus and downtown Freshmen compete in an eating contest during Block Party in the ' Burg. Sure, 1787 Orientation introduced the Class of 2016 and transfer students to many new things such as clubs, organizations and some crazy- First yeaR Orientation Guide (FROG) dances. But on Aug. 25, Block Party in the ' Burg introduced them to the charm of downtown Harrisonburg. THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCE... IT ' S SEEING THE COMMUNITY ALL AROUND US. Kelsey McCamey, junior Junior Kelsey McCamey an Orientation Peer Adviser, thought the block party was an important part of orientation. The college experience, in my opinion, isn ' t just going to college, it ' s seeing the community all around us, said McCamey. I believe that Block Party in the ' Burg gives students a chance to really see the community and build respect for it. Free food from local restaurants, games and fun were in abundance as students were free to wander around Court Square and Main Street. Photo booths and caricature artists were also available to the students. I thought it was pretty cool, because it got you to leave campus in a safe environment and it showed you the perks of downtown Harrisonburg in a fun and friendly way, said freshman Sarah Kwon. This was the eighth year that the party downtown took place. Despite drizzles early in the day, the party went on in full-swing. Some upperclassmen would not have considered their orientation experience the same without the block party. We were all vulnerable and unknowing when we first came to college, said McCamey. It ' s a different experience than anyone could ever imagine, and 1 think it ' s important to help [freshmen] receive that experience of learning and enjoying the atmosphere of JMU. WORDS j Julie Hirschhorn DESIGN | Sarah Lockwood PHOTOS j JMU Photography Services Ronald Stewart A First yeaR Orientation Guide (FROG) leads her freshmen back toward campus after Block Party in the ' Burg. FROGs carrried decorated signs throughout the week to help their groups identify them in large crowds. A vendor presents to block party guests under the Turner Pavilion. In addition to introducing them to downtown, 1 787 Orientation acquainted freshmen with university services. 28 | Features

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It sounds like you went in with a really open mind. Yeah, and they prepared us for that. They had a psychologist talk about that so if anyone was freaking out, you had someone to go talk to. We didn ' t really use it but the lady who was a psychologist made us meet as a relay, the four of us, and go over what we wanted to do. What kind of questions would she ask? She had all of us think ahead of time about what we wanted the experience to be like. She told us to imagine ourselves as old grandmas in a nursing home telling our grandkids about it. So, she was like, Do you want to tell your grandkids later in life that you went there and you freaked out and everything was a mess, or do you want to tell them that it was fun and happy? So it kind of put things in perspective for people who were freaking out, I think. Did anyone freak out? One girl was just 17 and she was the only one who made an A- cut for the Olympics, which was really fast. But, then she ended up not doing so good. It felt good preparing for something so big that you don ' t really know what it ' s going to be like. [The psychologist] kept telling us, It ' s going to be big and you ' re going to see famous people and it ' s going to be fun. But don ' t forget why you ' re there. Did you meet anyone famous? I met [U.S. tennis player] Serena Williams and her sister Venus. We took a picture with them and exchanged pins. All the countries get this pin with a flag that says Olympics or London and people exchange them. So, she came up to us and said, Hey, do you guys have any Icelandic pins? And we were like, Oh my God, yes of course. [I also met U.S. swimmer] Ryan Lochte and took a picture with him. He ' s really nice and cute. Senior Eva Hannesdottir poses with U.S. Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte. Hannesdottir went on a month-long training urogram in England and r rance before arriving in ..ondon. What was staying at Olympic Village like? It was pretty cool. [Cities] get about seven years to prepare for the Olympics, so seven years ago [London] started preparing and they built a village with super security. Inside the village, it ' s peaceful and the whole village had somewhere around 10,000 athletes. What was Olympic Village like at night? They had a big game room. I thought there would be partying and stuff going on, but that was not the case. There was no alcohol and if you tried to bring it, they would take it in security. But [the game room] was a cool place to go because sometimes you would go and there would be guitar playing or Xbox, pool, PlayStation. Everyone was wearing the gear that they get, like I would always wear Iceland and other people would wear Spain, Italy (United] States. Any plans for Olympics 201 6? In Brazil? Well, it ' s definitely an exciting place to visit. I haven ' t really given it thought, because four years for me is so far away ... I ' m going to practice and see what happens. WORDS DESIGN [ Nora Bollinger PHOTOS i Eva Hannesdottir London 201 2 Olympics | 27

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Ill u III III I SOLES FOR THE SOUL A group of newly-trained Resident Advisers (RAs), Hall Directors, Area Directors and Program Advisers sat in Grafton-Stovall Theatre during 1 787 Orientation. They had just watched a presentation by TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie about a program called Starting Something That Matters ' which encouraged RAs and Office of Residence Life staff to positively impact the lives of their peers. Suddenly, the curtains drew and boxes upon boxes of free TOMS shoes appeared - a pair for each person in the audience. The new TOMS owners decorated their shoes with glitter, paint and other supplies after the reveal. The purple and gold TOMS were soon on the feet of the Office of Residence Life staff, readying them for the feats they would accomplish. I ' M LIVING WITH AN That ' s what freshman Corrie Breshears found out when she received her housing assignment for Ikenberry Hall. This was the case for 25 freshmen and transfer students who enrolled in the fall. Resident Advisers usually had a dorm room to themselves, but the freshman class of 4,538 - the largest yet - rendered that impossible. Breshears enjoyed rooming with junior Danielle Johnson, because Johnson already knew her way around and could answer Breshear ' s questions. She knows how to balance being an RA and a roommate, said Breshears of Johnson. But this arrangement didn ' t last long. On Sept. 11, Breshears received an email from the Office of Residence Life with her new housing assignment. This time, with a fellow freshman in Eagle Hall. DIARY OF AN RA: 1787 Orientation with Julie Hirschhorn Sophomore Julie Hirschhorn (second from the right) shows off her new TOMS with fellow Resident Advisers sophomore Jennifer Lambertson, junior Chelsea Woods, sophomore Emily Hunt, and sophomore Caroline Morse. From dealing with ant infestations to designing artsy bulletin boards to guarding front doors until 2 a.m., Resident Advisers (RAs) do a lot. I became interested in being an RA during my own 1787 experience. I was stressed, anxious, homesick and just wanted to sleep in my own bed without the typical (or atypical) dorm life disruptions. However, I admired how at home my RA made me feel and wanted to do the same for future freshmen. Flash forward to August 2012 and there I was: a first-year RA in Shenandoah Hall. After a fun but grueling Olympics -themed week of training, I felt prepared to take on the daunting, yet exciting, events that lay ahead. B ut my mind was still sent into a tailspin when the freshmen moved in. The largest freshman class in university history quickly populated campus, purple JACards in hand. I frequently asked myself, Am I doing this right? Do my residents like me or do they see me as the bad guy? But I ' m not supposed to be self-conscious. RAs are taught to make themselves uncomfortable to make their residents comfortable. One day, I stumbled upon a resident crying with homesickness in the study lounge. My instincts kicked in and I comforted her. I knew I had made the right decision to become an RA. While observe and report was my official job description, I felt like I did a lot more. Whether it was answering my residents ' questions about the confusing bus routes or showing them how much laundry detergent to use, I liked to think that I played an important role in shaping their collegiate experience. I had an all-female floor of only 18 residents, so I was able to get to know each student ' s unique qualities and backgrounds. The 1787 Orientation experience was emotionally and physically taxing for many freshmen, but the actual school year presented more challenges. I assuaged the homesickness, but when a resident knocked on my door freaking out because she had an ant infestation, I was at a standstill - they didn ' t teach us how to perform exterminations during training! Being an RA for the first-floor A- wing of Shenandoah Hall was an experience I ' ll never forget, except for the part about insects inhabiting the rooms. That I can forget about. 1787 Orientation | 29