College of William and Mary - Colonial Echo Yearbook (Williamsburg, VA)

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Lines, lines, lines n Ithough registration pro- LLI cedures, room assignments, and classes changed from year to year, there was one pheno- mena sure to greet the return- student — the great wait. Once again it tormented stu- dents as they prepared for the beginning of classes. Lines made their usual appearances at validation, the bookstore, and add-drop, as well as new performances at the caf and yearbook picture sign-up. Although students cursed the heat and their aching feet as they waited, most took it all in stride. Just a decade ago the plight of their prede- cessors was much worse. During the late sixties, preregistra- tion, now an accepted mid- semester crisis, was unheard of. Registration was, instead, VALIDATION proves to be a time-consuming affair for upperclassmen. a two-day process held in Blow gym for the entire student body. When William and Mary hall was completed in 1971, the registration process was moved there. Many experienced the agony of waiting to regis- ter while watching the list of closed classes grow. Adding to the ordeal of arena style reg- istration was the fact that faculty advisors ' signatures THE TRICK is to add-drop into a class that fills your empty time slot. ARENA STYLE registration is a bewil- dering initiation into the life of a freshman. 3 CW- ' P H 1 I Mttf ' H B ' ! ' ' ! r y| 1 R w H 1 mt E l H 28 Registration

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OH yOUR MA The annual migration to Williamsburg starts off another year M esident Assistants returned 1% first to prepare for the others. This was only the be- ginning of the annual influx of cars, U-Hauls, and station wa- gons packed full of students ' belongings. Once the student arrived after long drives and packing sessions, there was the ordeal of getting a roomful of books, records and clothing up several flights of stairs to the room that was now theirs. Once the myriad of items was as- sembled, the re dent faced the task of organization. As if this proved insufficient to bog- gle a schedule, there existed other time consuming chores those first few weeks. Checking in, conferring with advisors, buying books, having your year- book picture taken, and catch- ing up on friends missed over the summer all demanded much time. Entering students also faced these same events. To compound f ItVJ AMa-Y AND FRIENDS are recruited by Togi ' VOTSilHs to ' helphini get ' irioveii Tn. . , - woMens RecePTiONS A s in years past, the •I freshmen women received a special welcome to college life — the traditional freshmen wo- men ' s receptions held during the first few weeks of the school year by each of the frat- ernities. Attendance by the freshmen was high, while opin- ions about these apparently in- nocent displays of hospitality varied greatly. Some girls thoroughly enjoyed the parties and felt that they offered a good opportunity to meet people. Others expressed dissatisfac- tion with what they felt was the meat market atmosphere. Ratios at these receptions re- mained a consistent eight to one in favor of the girls, or guys depending on how it was interpreted. The frat men were definitely outnumbered, but few complained. After the social- izing, some freshmen departed unimpressed, while others re- turned with lively tales of their latest W M discovery — the fraternity complex. difficulties, new students had to adapt to a new school, unfa- miliar faces, and a different environment. The freshman ' s predicament was a specialized one. Freshmen went through the orientation program, of- fering slight criticisms but largely accepting and submit- ting to what they viewed as an administrative formality that each class before them had al- so experienced. Previous clas- ses went through orientation, but programs of the late 1960s differed immensely in both con- tent and implementation. In earlier years, there was no permanent orientation com- mittee. Respectively desig- nated group leaders and sponsors, male and female orientation aides were sepa- rately selected and trained. Groups were single sex and separate activities were planned for each group. Despite many innovations made, several aspects of ori- entation such as interest night and mixers remained intact from earlier times. b- mm sa imi I ' ' Moving in 2 '

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were required before one could even begin. Next in the pro- cess came the stampede to get up to the tables where regis- tration cards were kept, only to be informed that the class was closed. Add-drop was a student ' s only recourse. Preregistration. begun three years ago, was initially devel- oped for juniors and seniors only. Two years ago it was expanded to include sophomores and second semester freshmen. New problems replaced the old for the entire student body. Any class could experience the dismay of receiving the green slip of paper informing them that they were only registered for six instead of 15 hours or had been closed out of a course required for graduation in the spring. After waiting in line oaring book prices C caused many students to turn to the SA bookfair looking for bargains. Two hours before it started, students began to line up in the Campus Center, filling the halls and stairwells and continuing outside. Despite this imposing mass of people the lines moved through quickly due to an increase in the number of check-out booths and streamlined or- ganizational procedures. Registration for selling books was changed. Such in- novations enabled the SA to offer better services. STUDENTS fill the halls as they wait to pay for their purchases. to validate, students faced add add-drop lines. Even though the newer system of matching students with class schedules was plagued by ap- proximately ten thousand add- drops per semester, it was con- sidered successful compared to the earlier methods by those who dealt with both. It saved students from the nightmare of arena style madness. BEFORE getting yearbook pictures taken, students fill out index cards to give to the typist. Registration 29