University of Arkansas Fayetteville - Razorback Yearbook (Fayetteville, AR)

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Student Life 27

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A Statistical Overview When Faces Fade to Mere Numbers On January 22, 1872, ten students, none of them high school graduates, met in a remote town in the Ozarks to form the University of Arkansas. All of the first students were from Fayetteville with its population of 995. And sure enough, in the spring of 1876, eight of the original plus one more graduated. Now, in 1976 with its record enroll¬ ment of 12,254, the UA is still in a remote town in Arkansas; however, a few state highways have wormed around the hills to make it a little more accessible. And because of the Razorbacks and its reputation for being a party school, it has made the city of Fayetteville, which has grown to a population of 31,915, a lit¬ tle more recognizable especially to fans of Southwest Conference teams. The largest number of students still come from the Fayetteville area with 3,147 from Washington County. Pula¬ ski County runs second with 1,197. Although the majority of students, 10,114, are Arkansas residents, there is at least one student from each of the 50 states in addition to 44 foreign countries. The surrounding states are well represented with 364 Texans, 299 Missourians, 222 Oklahomans, and 125 Louisianians. The largest group of foreign students is 38 from Iran. From the very first the University has been coeducational with five men and four women graduating in 1876. The ratio is still about the same with 7,447 males and 4,807 females. But as in the words of the 1898 Car¬ dinal it takes something more than a faculty and a few lecture rooms to make a university. The other requisite is a student body, and we have it. The students can now be broken down and categorized quickly by the computer but, as from the first years, it is still composed of diversified individuals. 26 Student Life

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Orientation: More Than a Beginning For many it ' s their first look and feel of the University, The orienta¬ tion counselors wonder what ' s going on as freshmen arrive weighted down with enough luggage for months — when in reality they are just going to spend the night. Then come their initial questions; first they ask: Can me and Mary Jane be roommates? My mom doesn ' t have to stay with me, does she? What do you mean — no beer! Freshpeople, we get them every year. Most upperclassmen can tell them a mile off, but summer orienta¬ tion helps them cover up a little better. Student Services sponsors orienta¬ tion every June under the direction of Dr. Steve Bader — an orientation that is considered to be one of the best in the nation. One parent con¬ firmed this when she said she had been to five orientations at major universities across the country and there was no doubt in her mind that this was the best yet. Dr. Bader and a staff of eleven UA students gave approximately 1700 freshmen their first contact with the University campus this year. While working with the first year students, the counselors have to orientate their parents also, assur¬ ing them that Johnny won ' t go wild and Suzy will remain sweet. For some strange reason, the parents seem to enjoy orientation just as much as the freshmen, or even more. One parent said, I can ' t believe how much college has changed and how much I ' ve learned in one day. I think every parent should be required to attend orientation. Almost every freshman remembers his orientation to the University, especially when one of the counse¬ lors greets him as he comes out of the elevator with two six packs of beer and makes him throw them down the trash shoot, one by one. The reactions to the summer pro¬ gram are varied. One freshman wrote on a survey, Thank you for being so nice. My counselor was really great and informative and kinda cute. But another student said, This program sucks. The counselors enjoy orientation too. Their impressions range from boy, that was a dumb group to I wouldn ' t trade this job for the world. And in the background Dr. Bader sits with a relieved look on his face as each session ends. 28 Student Life