Barnard College - Mortarboard Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 16 text:

ORIENTATION ' 77 Each year the incoming freshmen and transfers are introduced to Barnard College, Columbia Uni- versity and New York City through the Orientation program. The student coordinators are selected during the Fall semester of the preceding year and in February the committee in charge of the various programs is chosen. Starting early in the Spring season right through those long, hot summer days and nights the coordinators work on the scheduling and planning of events they feel will be beneficial as well as enjoyable for the incoming students. This planning involves conferences with the Deans of Barnard, Columbia, Engineering and Nursing, con- tacting professors, calling up talent agents, seeking student talents, planning receptions and themes for the social events, assigning housing space keep- ing track of all the sponsors and coordinating the minority a nd transfer programs into the general Orientation program. This year by the beginning of August, there was a feeling of panic when it seemed that nothing was falling into place. Of course every- thing worked out in the end. Although each Orientation has tended to dupli- cate the one before it, thus creating an endless stream of dull and unimaginative ideas, Barnard- Columbia Orientation ' 77 was anything but that. From the first day of the four day program to the first day of registration the Class of 1981 was of- fered many surprises and a variety of events to choose from. Moreover the class of ' 81 itself held a few surprises: Love at first bite (At Left) Moving in to BHR 12 FRESHWOMEN

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Hat band tudents at Columbia University and Bar- wrd College in New York City are returni- ng to the old-fashioned ways of being a reshman this year. Until the late 1960s, beanies were mandatory articles for many freshmen. Although beanies aren ' t re- quired, new students at these schools are bringing back a little tradition. H eames Mack tor Lolumbm From ButThey ' re No Longer Mandatory NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (TJ PI) — Beanies, nostalgic not give them out free as a souvenir — a replica of symbols of another age. adorned the heads an earlier Columbia tradition, just to keep. And if man said, because the old freshman beanie was a skullcap. We laughed when we first had the idea. said senior Nick Senver, Columbia College coordinator of freshman orientation, No college would have the gall to try to bring Wk ihn lwanic. we said. But then, v d thought, why freshmen. Another souvenir. Senver, a pre law major from Chevy CIia.se, Md,, said it wasn ' t easy getting the 2,300 beanies made. We went to several hatters in New York who said— You ' re crazy. We haveiFRBSHWPM - till that in years. ' We finally found a small company that worked night and day to turn them out.

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THOSE NOTORIOUS BEANIES! Barnard ' s incoming freshman class was the largest in the history of the school, representing a 16% increase over last year ' s alone. From the start it was obvious that these students would be a pleasant surprise. Most arrived on or before appointed check-in time and appeared eager to begin their lives at Barnard. Likewise most were very receptive to the Orientation program, another difference from some past years. This year less emphasis was put on the big events, thus making room for more variety. As one freshman happily remarked, There were so many events, I hardly knew which to go to! Ac- ademic counseling was also given a place in the program. There were speakers from nearly every department to aid interested freshmen. Revived from previous years were the all time favorites: tickets to the Forest Hills Tennis Tournament, theater tickets, a midnight cruise around Manhat- ten, and of course the Cabaret. The most notori- ous innovation was the reintroduction of beanies. Once a tradition at Columbia, this was a first for Barnard. Beanies, the highlight of Orientation ' 77 met with overwhelming, if mixed responses. The major objection raised by freshmen and students at other Ivies was that these adorable little blue hats marked with the student ' s class year were demeaning. The majority of people, how- ever, found the idea intriguing, as evidenced by the incredible amount of newscoverage received. Nearly every local TV station, as well as the New York Times and the Daily News, covered the story. On one station a shot of a dog in a beanie was shown to prove that indeed everyone was wearing them. This year ' s Orientation program seemed to have achieved a perfect balance between academ- ics and activities so that the transition to school work at the beginning of the semester went more smoothly. Gone were the students so sick of ac- tivities that they longed for academics, and gone were the students so unprepared for and afraid of academics that they lived in dread of them. In- stead incoming freshmen learned that such a ba- lance can and does exist, which is what Orienta- tion is all about. C.T. Recruits for the ' 78 Early Admissions Program New York City, an imposing site for the freshmen from smaller towns FRESH WOMEN 13