Freshman orientation looked a little different this year.
University officials adapted Stars Week and Greek Life formal recruitment this semester to accommodate for COVID-19 protocol and safety regulations.
Laura Tapia, theatre and performance/psychology sophomore, served as a New Student Orientation leader this year.
“We just show them around campus, help them get to know the place, get to know the people, and answer any and all questions that they may have and facilitate the making-friends process,” Tapia said.
Levi Harrel, dean of students, said while many of the events were done virtually this year, he was impressed with the success of Stars Week and Greek Life formal recruitment.
“I was pleasantly surprised this week that it went so well,” Harrel said.
Tapia said NSO leaders met with groups of new students called Stars Groups.
“We meet to discuss various topics, from diversity and inclusion, to how to be a leader on campus, and we just have a lot of fun,” Tapia said.
Meredith England, acting junior, also served as an NSO leader this year. England said students were allowed to attend Stars Groups virtually.
“Our content hasn’t really changed. Everyone just has to be spaced out and in a bigger room,” England said. “If multiple people in your group are not comfortable meeting in person, you can just hold your meetings over zoom.”
England said one annual Stars Week event was cancelled this year.
“We have this event that we do every year called First Year Follies, which is where we go into the gym and we just play a bunch of really fun ice breaker games, and we had to cut that this year, which is so sad,” England said.
Tapia said the Traditions Rally, an annual event honoring the history of OCU, was changed to a TikTok challenge.
“Traditionally, we would make a sketch or a skit talking about their legacy and making it fun and pretty interactive, and then we would go and perform them in Petree, but this year we’re making one-minute TikToks about our legacy that we’re going to share with each other,” Tapia said.
Harrel said events for Greek Life were also adapted this year.
“All of IFC and Panhellenic Council formal recruitment was virtual,” Harrel said.
Ian McEntire, economics/political science freshman, said it was difficult getting to know people during virtual formal recruitment.
“It was all virtual this year, which was smart, but it was hard to kind of form the connection with my peers who I’d never met in person,” McEntire said.
Harrel said he understands the importance of in-person interaction.
“Those face-to-face, human-to-human interactions are important to create points of connection, a sense of belonging,” Harrel said.
Harrel said Greek Life organizations are being encouraged to conduct events online for the rest of the year.
“Chapters are encouraged to conduct chapter meetings and official meetings virtually just for the health and well-being of the organizations themselves,” Harrel said.
McEntire said he’s impressed with the flexibility of OCU’s student body.
“One of the main things that I’ve taken from my time on campus is seeing how adaptable the students and the leaders of the school are,” McEntire said.
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