University of Southern California - El Rodeo Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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RIENTATION PRO RAMS the day unnoticed. Presumably it was meant to be opened and read, but spare seconds never came. From ' check-in ' on, I was putty in the ' Orientation Advisors ' hands. I was led to take tests. (Enough said). The lunch was in Trojan tradition. Gourmet chicken sizzled in the sil- H USE Good Food Good Dnnks Good Tunes No Turkeys : J r ir i She was very pretty, dark, smartly dressed and sporting a nametag. ' Nancy ' fit my preconceptions. ' ]Nelcome to USC! Check-in is to the left, and help yourself to juice! ' FHer smile never thawed as she waited for me stop staring. Embar- rassed, I noticed my parents had dis- appeared into the brick-and-glass , —building in front of me. ' Fluor Tow- I Jc ' . The right place. My first day at USC; Orientation; I had made it. BrpathintJ Hppniv I pntprpH My eyes met panic, glossed cheer- fully in red-and-gold. Several thou- sand very frightened teenagers were queued up waiting to sign in. Par- ents looked both anxious and re- signed. I saw more Orientation personnel: polite, competent, sum- mer-tanned. And from director ' Peg- gy ' to ' Kathy ' , smiling. Omniscient shepherds with new Trojan lambs. Finding my line, I was handed a packet of ' general ' info the size of a nhnne hook. This tome. alas, soent ver serving dish. A silver-haired dean urged us to be ' not like blind men touching an elephant ' but to see the whole institution. Inspired, I saluted Mom Dad (we were scheduled to be separated until ' later ' - like 1988!) and trooped away to learn all about USC. Terry, my Advisor, said he was a mere student - not, as I had thought, a demi-god chum of Tommy T. He said ' relax ' , and, ' get involved ' . I wondered if that was contradictory. The day continued in the same vein: people happily explaining what I should do. What ' profs ' would do. Where to go. Whom to talk to. I absorbed more information in 12 hours than I had in 12 years. Then we partied. Fluor Tower at night was full of wildness. Dancing, drinking, laughing; some incipient romance. And always ' OA ' s and ' RA ' s hanging out, talking to us like people they were glad to meet. I completed registration the next day in a blur. At 4:30 pm, my future, in the form of a pink-and-white ' en- rollment verification ' , screamed that fall would bring classes and text- books. I ignored it. I knew the real USC. I said temporary goodbye to my challenging new home, thinking it beautiful and competitive. But thanks to Orientation, I was prepared to join in - ready for USC. And clearly USC was ready for me. ' by Jon Burdick

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Right: The path to Town Gown is a new student ' s first introduc- tion to Trojan ele- gance. Middle Right: The LAbyrinth is an im- portant publication for out-of-towners and An- gelenos alike. Far Right: New student res- idents decorate eciec- tically: a bit of home, a few experiences. Be- low Right: The 1984 summer saw miracu- lously minor damage to university housing fa- cilities, possibly be- cause RAs joined the staff for the first time. 1 984 ORieNTfiTION PROGRAMS: PI TROJF1N-FOR-LIF6 ' IS BORN 1984 Orientation Staff - Rr»t Row: Ku ' ulpo Cashman, Leah Newell, Caroline Ross, Kevin Kenney, Carol Holston. Second Row: Michelle Foxx, Kotherine Whitesldes. Leanne McCausland, Fat Woman In Robe I, Larry Gerquest, Nancy Weisberg. Third Row: Jon Burdick, Woman In Robe II, Erick Goldberg, Bref Fausett, Brodley Fllckinger, Fat Woman In Robe III, and Terry Madlgan.

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22 Student Life