Orientation Survival Guide

See Also: Knox 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 as many friends/acquaintences as possible during orientation. You will not have another opportunity like this to meet people during your time at Knox. Take full advantage of this so you aren't looking back with regret.
• Make friends with your advisor. 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 Streets, and the north end of Henderson Street.
• 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. Facilities Services 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 E-mail Setup. Familiarize yourself with Thunderbird because Webmail sucks.
• Look into forwarding your Knox E-mail to your regular E-Mail provider. Checking your E-Mail through Knox can be sketchy at best, but if you have it forwarded, you can avoid most of these problems.

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 Out Post.
• 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 e-mail for every single club at the club fair, because you will get a billion e-mails a day. Then again, this could be a good way to know what is going on. You can always get off the lists later.
• 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.
• Go to Prompt Care.
• Drink more than you should. If you have never drank before, or rarely have, don't feel pressured to do so. However if you do, be careful and don't go overboard. Having your stomach pumped/suffering through alcohol poisoning is NOT a good way to start off your college career.
• Have sex with that first-year chick/dude that you were looking at during the Luau. You know this will be a mistake, and do you really want to be that idiot? Just wait for 2 weeks, man.

Orientation Week Social Skills

• Most First Years find some comfort in their assigned suites and immediately decide to become best friends with everyone they live with. This is unneccessary and can hinder the process of making friends with people you actually like. Don't feel pressured to attend all meals with your suitemates. Also don't feel pressure to go out or stay in. Do what you want to do.
• Almost everyone claims to have a crazy first year roommate. Knox likes crazies, you will learn to love them once you don't live with them.
• There are other places on campus to drink beer than at TKE. Don't limit yourself.
• Try to avoid being the really drunk girl, the guy who wants to fight and for the love of god don't talk about AP scores.
• Some people suck at talking to and meeting people. If you are one of these people, take heart that you are not alone in this. Don't use it as an excuse to skip out on the icecream social or other events. At the very least go for twenty minutes. And if you don't suffer from awkward, recognize it others and go talk to them, cause they probably won't leave the comfort of the wall or chair and everyone could use one more friendly face on campus.