Gone are the months of tortured uncertainty and speculation about future college roommates. Through Pennster, the new peer-to-peer pre-frosh network, incoming freshmen learned about their new hallmates' favorite movies, saw their faces, got to know their self-professed quirks and even sparked impassioned political debate well before stepping on campus.
Pennster is a virtual student orientation network sponsored by University College Houses and Academic Services, as well as New Student Orientation, and has allowed incoming Penn freshmen to interact with each other since its launch date in May.
According to NSO Coordinator Troy Majnerick, Pennster has been "overwhelmingly successful," facilitating discussions on everything from Penn academics to gay marriage, and easing "freshman jitters" by allowing students to make friends before they leave home.
Pennster technology allows freshmen to find and talk to people on their halls, join chat rooms open to all freshman students or enter discussion forums on specific topics. Members are limited to first-year students, resident advisers, graduate associates and college house faculty and staff.
Incoming College freshman Ronny Abbo heard about Pennster through other Class of 2008 students he already knew. Abbo says Pennster "has made me more comfortable, knowing that people are willing to talk to people they don't know."
Although Pennster is the first such network hosted by the University, it is not the only network of its kind. It finds stiff competition in thefacebook.com, a social network started by Harvard University students that allows students, faculty and alumni from 58 schools to interact.
Abbo says that he prefers thefacebook.com, because he "can communicate with people from Penn as well as other schools, while with Pennster you are limited to just Penn."
Incoming College freshman Michael Sanders also prefers thefacebook.com to Pennster, explaining that it is easier to search and "match up with friends of friends."
However, Pennster's exclusive information about future hallmates lured Sanders away from thefacebook.com long enough to exchange AOL Instant Messenger screennames with the people he will be living with this semester.
While Sanders and Abbo may prefer thefacebook, over 75 percent of the incoming freshman class registered for Pennster, creating an undeniable opportunity for the Class of 2008 to start bonding even before convocation.
Majnerick describes the Pennster site as "an invaluable resource to [NSO organizers] and the students."
