By: Anna Heur
What do icebreakers, sex therapists, and the UHY Center have in common? If you said the 2023 Siena freshman orientation, you would be spot on. The first five days as Saints on campus were jam-packed with a mix of helpful (and some not-so-helpful) events to prepare freshmen for the year ahead. Here are some of the highlights:
After the chaos of move-in—getting posters and string lights to stick to those dorm walls is no joke—freshmen were herded out of their dorms to meet their wonderful Saint leaders and do team builders. Unbeknownst to us, this would be the first of many icebreakers we were subjected to—I’ve never had to have so many fun facts about myself on demand. This sentiment was echoed by freshman Marla Hakim, who said “[T]he team building activities…felt really forced and we couldn’t connect as much when the talks were very scripted.” While icebreakers made sense on Day 1, doing them beyond that just felt like an attempt to fill up time. The first day closed with a welcome ceremony at the Grotto, complete with sparklers from the roof of the Patricia Gioia Hall and a classic President Chuck Seifert selfie with the freshman class.
Day 2 introduced the freshmen to academic opportunities at Siena through not one, but two panels at the UHY Center. This, too, would become a theme of orientation, as we had 9 separate panels here in the span of four days. The highlight of this day was undoubtedly the carnival later that night, complete with a DJ, laser tag, and Kona Ice. What better way to meet new freshmen than on the dance floor scream-singing the Spice Girls’s “Wannabe”?
Day 3 was another full day of more panels at the UHY Center and fun activities. At the first panel, diversity speaker Eboné Bell spoke, sharing a powerful message about the importance of diversity and inclusion on campus. While her message resonated with a lot of students, the second panel that began five minutes later diluted the impact. A husband-wife duo led a discussion about consent and sexual assault prevention. While these topics are extremely pertinent and important for the freshmen body to hear, the lighthearted, joking manner in which they were delivered fell flat. Saint Leader Shelsy Vincente Gross put it best: “Every year we bring back speakers who try to break down sexual assault conversations in a way where humor is used so that it is not as awkward for students to speak about, but I do feel like sometimes the humor overpowers it and the message gets forgotten about.” For people who have experienced or been exposed to sexual assault in the past, this lighthearted delivery could minimize their experience or feel invalidating. Nonetheless, Day 3 ended on a positive note with karaoke and make-and-take crafts in the SSU.
Day 4 began in the UHY center once more, this time with comedian Kevin Wanzer reminding freshmen to find joy in everyday situations. While this message was valuable, the freshmen had frequented the UHY Center so often that information began going over our heads. Freshman Carissa Gehr agreed that “The [amount of information from the] UHY Center talks, although they addressed specific aspects of Siena, was overwhelming and exhausting.” The relaxation night at the end of the day was much needed—complete with service dogs and massages.
The last day was our “leaving the nest” moment, filled with mostly unstructured time. While it was a nice break from the prescriptive panels and activities, we didn’t have enough direction to prepare for upcoming classes. For freshman Gabrielle Hix, it would have been helpful to have an extra day “within orientation or hall groups, [where] everyone brought computers down and figured out how to get onto Canvas, view schedules, and navigate Degree Audit.” While the orientation events introduced us to general opportunities at Siena, it felt as if we were left to figure out the logistics and specifics on our own.
Overall, the main critique of orientation from the freshmen I talked to was the lack of free time. Furthermore, the free time we did have was usually spent recovering from the volume of panels and teambuilders, rather than mentally preparing for classes or meeting new people. This is not to say that the panels were unnecessary—we understand that the administration is tasked with conveying a large amount of information to students in a short amount of time. However, the way this information was delivered could have been varied—from changing the locations of panels to modifying lighthearted talks about serious topics. We reached out to the orientation administration team for input on these critiques but did not receive a response by the time of publication. Regardless, pulling off five days of events for 800 students is no easy feat, and we appreciate the Siena orientation committee for providing a strong start to the year for the newest class of Saints.