New Student Orientation organizers are mixing some brand new programs into a schedule full of tried-and-true events in order to make the most of students' first days on campus this year.
The NSO staff and the Undergraduate Assembly Education Committee, which has been working on reforming NSO, collaborated in a yearlong planning process to create some new activities and features while adding onto the existing strengths of the orientation program.
"We keep building on it," NSO Director David Fox said.
One of the most visible and dynamic additions to NSO is the Peers Helping Incoming New Students Program. Wharton junior Cynthia Wong, chairwoman of the UA Education Committee and UA vice chairwoman, referred to PHINS as "Yber-NSO volunteers."
Working in conjunction with not in place of peer advisers, this group of undergraduates who completed extensive training in the spring will be available to answer any and all questions that incoming freshmen have about campus life.
NSO Coordinator Troy Majnerick said that one goal of the program is to allow new students "not to feel as though they were left on an island" when they arrive on campus.
Wong emphasized that the accessibility of these mentors is a "priceless opportunity for freshmen." NSO organizers hope the relationship between new students and PHINS will help to better integrate freshmen into the larger Penn community.
Also helping to acclimate students to campus life is the UA Town Meeting on Sept. 4. The meeting will give UA members a chance to introduce all the resources that the University has to offer. This new program will consist of three panels focusing respectively on diversity, student government and student wellness.
In addition to bringing together freshmen and older students, NSO also strives to unite international students and those coming to Penn from across the United States.
Since International Student Orientation occurs separately from NSO, this year there will be a mixer to encourage interaction and camaraderie between these two groups of students.
Another priority of NSO organizers is to raise diversity awareness. To this end, students will participate in a discussion session moderated by Nathaniel Smith, a Programs for Awareness in Cultural Education instructor. Students will be exposed to upperclassmen's views on diversity at Penn and encouraged to share their own thoughts on the subject.
While there is much to be learned throughout NSO, there is also no shortage of purely fun events.
This year, students will have the opportunity to catch a free late-night flick at Philly's newest multiplex, the Bridge: Cinema de Lux.
NSO organizers hope that these new additions to the program will complement previously successful events like the toga party at the University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, and the gala at the Philadelphia Museum of Art which Majnerick described as "the most unbelievable [orientation] event that anyone does across the country" to create an enriching experience for all new students.
NSO "is their welcome to Penn," Wong said, "and we want to make it as great as it can possibly be."
