Marquette University - Hilltop Yearbook (Milwaukee, WI)

Page 28 text:

• • From the superiority of seniority to the insecurity of once again being low rung on the ladder; this is the freshman dilemma; this is the bewilderment syndrome. Freshman orientation orograms have been stereotyped operations. Often, they have resulted in stereotyped opinions of the university. This year, Marquette's orientation program was given a much-needed face lift. Realizing that the traditional Welcome Week routine was lacking, the university relinquished control of the proceedings and placed it in the hands of a student steering board. The idea was elementary: students helping students; upperclassmen helping underclassmen. It was, understandably, impossible to give individual attention to almost 1900 students in four days. Hence, the group discussion format. Responsibility for the success of the program was entrusted to discussion leaders who led their respective groups through the days’ activities. The object was to keep a relatively small number of students together long enough so they would recognize one another in the daily sea of faces which would confront them later. Some felt the idea was overworked. There were too many formal meetings, too much talk, and not enough action. But most were enthusiastic about the change. The smaller groups allowed stranger to meet stranger in a more relaxed atmosphere. The discussions allowed students to ask questions of other students who were not too far removed from their own freshman years to remember what it was all about. Perhaps more importantly, the program was a show of confidence on the part of the university administration. Students ran the show. The show smacked of success. Arnold Mitchem, director, Educational Opportunity Program.

Page 30 text:

Marquette University prides itself on an intellectual academic life on campus. The routine of classes prevails most of the year. But, during registration, it’s strictly a dog-eat-dog world on the gym floor. The mapping of 12,000 lives in two days results in crying fits, cursing, and a general berating of the staff. Students are forced into unwanted sections, and driven through a maze of check-out lines and stop-off points. Their faith in the system’s continuing faults encourages them to duck the bursar’s line and forge signatures. After a final reshuffling of the student's academic life, the mad rush ends when his face is photographed and instantly laminated between two strips of clear plastic. The system is all very mechanical. Student numbers are given priority over students. Wrinkle-free IBM cards reign over wrinkled people. Only the merciful smiles of some faculty and students make the system bearable. After the initial shock of freshman year, it all becomes routine. Ray here