IU welcomes incoming freshmen

Sitting in the lobby of Wright Quad Tuesday, a father watched his child -- and soon to be IU freshman -- hurry along from table to table with other future students receiving their itineraries and learning the new ropes of the University they will be coming back to in less than three months.\nWithin the crowded lobby, well-rehearsed student orientation leaders strategically placed at every corner of the quad welcomed and directed lost families as they kicked off the first day of orientation after months of waiting and preparations. \n"I think it's going really well," said senior Laura Petrucce. \nPetrucce said it's her first year as a student leader and said she is enthusiastic about the upcoming six weeks of work.\n"Ever since I went through it, I wanted to do it," Petrucce said. "I wanted to get personal with people and not give them those polished answers."\nPetrucce's job changes daily, as does the other student leaders, and she has different opportunities to work on multiple programs with parents and students. \n"They picked a very important group of people," she said. "We all offer the students knowledge from many different backgrounds."\nEqually impressed, many parents said they were satisfied with their fist orientation experience and found the few programs they witnessed were helpful and informative. \n"There has been excellent programming so far," said Michael Silverstein, who flew from Florida with his oldest son and was about to meet up with him for the first time since check-in. "(The day) is mostly for him, and I think he'll find it very helpful."\nTed and Lisa Sheppe traveled from Evansville with their oldest son Alex and were satisfied with how the day was going.\n"It's all wonderful and very well organized," said Ted Sheppe, who had just finished a student orientation leader-led parent session, during which they were encouraged to ask questions in order to get a student perspective on their concerns. \nHe said questions ranged from safety, campus resources and the best ways to deal with finances. Sheppe said he found the session covered most of their unanswered questions. \n"It really helped put my fears at ease and has really been an enjoyable day in general," he said. \nParents have the opportunity to participate in programs regarding career services, housing and group advising. In these groups, parents and students meet with advisors from their potential majors for scheduling and planning advice.\nMany found the sessions helpful in answering their questions, but some found the information repetitive and trite. \nBeckie Madigan and her daughter Megan Noller drove from Indianapolis for orientation and said they were not satisfied with their morning programming. \n"It was a colossal waste of time," Madigan said. "There wasn't enough new and original information. We love IU, but we just hated orientation." \nNoller wished that the sessions would have centered more around visiting campus and explained more of the history and culture of campus. She was tired of hearing information about the alcohol and pressure.\n"So much of it felt so rehearsed," Noller said. She added she wished they had spent more of the day on "academics (and) making sure you don't get stressed out."\nMany students agreed that the day was filled with a lot of information and not everything was targeted to their specific questions. But some remain hopeful that if anything, they will end up meeting other new students.\n"My biggest concern right now is meeting my roommate," said David Schneider, who came a day early for his Wednesday orientation. Schneider said he is excited for the nighttime programming at the Student Recreational Sports Center. \n"Hopefully I'll meet a lot of new people," he said.