Freshman orientation to begin

Tuesday marks the beginning of what many veteran students may remember as their first small taste of IU. New student orientation, which begins tomorrow and runs through July 19, is a service that seeks to instill more than 6,500 students with what it's like to be on a college campus and what they can expect come fall.\n"Students do quite a bit of stuff," said Melanie Payne, associate director of orientation programs. "There are some very specific things about becoming a student that they need to learn." \nSome programming includes alcohol and drug safety advice, roommate information and transition training. Along with the specific specialized sessions, students also get their picture taken, receive their student ID and campus access cards and register for classes.\n"We do it in a way to try to get them to think about those kind of things," Payne said. "We give them a picture in their mind and some good foundation for when they get back to get them started on a good successful path."\nStudents will be involved in discussions about decisions they will be faced with inside and outside the classroom, while learning about the college campus and opportunities that IU offers.\n"We do sessions on anything from academics and classroom issues and tips for success to resources at IU, services at IU and opportunities to get involved," Payne said.\nEach student will also have the opportunity to meet with an advisor individually before registering for classes, which Payne said is something they are proud of because it is rare to find large schools with such individualized attention during sessions like these. \nAll new students are required to attend an orientation session whether they are starting out at IU or transferring. For transfer students, orientation focuses more on what is new and different at this university since the students have already had experience at another campus. \nSenior Adam Shifrin found it difficult transferring to a new campus his sophomore year and wished he would have had more intensive sessions to learn specific aspects of IU that his old school didn't have. \n"I didn't even learn what Oncourse (was)," Shifrin said. "Luckily I had friends who were here who were able to explain a lot."\nSince Shifrin transferred, many aspects of orientation have changed, Payne said, and the style of their presentation is different to try to encompass new things they may have missed in the past. The students will participate in more group and team activities and are assigned smaller groups with individual leaders where they will engage in outdoor information sessions and team activities at night. \n"Sitting outside helps them see that they can take advantage of our very large campus and all its resources and they can feel like a family," Payne said. "It's a small campus feel with the big campus resources."\nIncoming freshman Molly Halper, though nervous about the actual orientation session, is excited to meet people and learn more about the school she will be attending in the fall.\n"I don't really know what to expect," Halper said. "I think it's going to make me more excited to be at school and what it's like to be there and who I'm going to be there with"