Orientation Survival Guide

Orientation Week is intimidating and weird. This guide should help you navigate the mystery and keep you safe from common pitfalls.

Things You Should Do During Orientation Week

• Go to the library orientation; actually completing orientation gets you an entry for free bookstore cash.
• Get your student ID from Dining Services on your own time so that you can skip your orientation group's trip and avoid just waiting around the whole time.
• Sign up for work shifts as soon as you get hired so that you don't get stuck with the bad jobs or hours.
• Wash your hands before and after Pumphandle.
• Make friends with your adviser. They're your best grown-up friend, and can help you adjust to more than the workload.
• Set time aside for a trip to Target. You will forget something.
• Get a lay of the land if you won't have a car. Be particularly aware of the surrounding neighborhoods, the stores on Cherry and Main, and the north end of Henderson.
• The moment you find out your classes, buy your books online. The bookstore is a ripoff.
• If desired, put in a work-order for bed rearrangement as soon as possible. Maintenance is swamped during move-in day, and they need time to get to you.
• Be excited about Knox. It's not everyone's first choice, but if you're too maudlin, it sure as hell will be your last.
• Talk to people! All the introductions can be overwhelming, but it's a prime time to at least expose yourself to a wide array of people before you and others get more settled into activities and groups of friends.
• Go to the Computer Center Email Setup. Familiarize yourself with Thunderbird because webmail sucks.

Things You Should Not Do During Orientation Week

• Skip all the social events.
• Tell people about your major. You don't have one yet.
• Decide which, if any, Greek organization is for you.
• Buy too many furnishings. Like it or not, you'll have to store it or pack it at the end of the year.
• Call it The Outpost.
• Tell people about your sophomore standing. It's not as special as you think.
• Worry if you haven't met your best friend/soulmate, picked your major, or discovered the meaning of life by the end of Orientation. Adjusting to new things takes time.
• Leave your email for every single club at the club fair, because you will get a billion emails a day.
• Get too frustrated about all the repetitive introductory conversations that revolve around majors and hometowns. It fades with time.
• Take a trip to the ER. If necessary, try to make it to St. Mary's rather than Cottage.