By Colleen Good

While the first week of classes is only just over and orientation was merely days ago, for many freshman, orientation feels like a lifetime ago.Orientation was largely the same as in previous years. For five jam-packed days, students participated in the requisite getting-to-know-you activities, gambled at Casino Night and belted their hearts out at the New Student Talent Show.

“It felt like summer camp,” Sarah Horowitz ’13 said.

Brendan Pierce ’13 echoed the sentiment. “I thought it was great that I got to meet a bunch of people,” he said.

Some had more mixed feelings about the experience.

“I went to most of the stuff,” Alex Yang ’13 said. “I thought in the beginning it was a good way to meet people and hang out with people-it just maybe lasted a little longer than necessary.”

Among the more positively reviewed events were multicultural-focused events such as Faces of Macalester and Into the Streets.

“I actually enjoyed hearing some of the stories from the multiculturalism and diversity event,” Zachary Boling-Green ’13 said. “Especially since I had heard two minutes before that one of the RAs was one of the participants. It just kind of put a face on it.”

Students also appreciated the opportunity to get off campus with a trip to the State Fair.

“The Minnesota State Fair was a lot of fun,” Vinod Malwatte ’13 said. “I think every kid should go for a visit.”

At the fair, some students were content with deep-fried Oreos and rides but others chose to go for the full State Fair experience when they visited the Miracle of Life Center.

“It was an experience to remember-we just walked in, and immediately a cow gave birth,” Danny Morel ’13 said. “It was
funny because there were a lot of spectators. It was like a boxing match, only it was a cow giving birth.”

The New Student Social last Friday night received more negative reviews.

“It was weird,” Kyle Gename ’13 said. “I felt it was more for the Orientation Leaders. They were having a raucous good time. Everyone else was confused, disinterested or a combination of the two.”

For some students, New Student Orientation wasn’t their first introduction to their classmates. International students attended their own orientation, though the format was different from years past. It is now called “Pre-Orientation for International Students,” and was shorter than usual, focusing on adjusting to life in the United States.

“I really liked that it was shorter,” said Evelyn Balsells ’12, who attended some of this year’s international orientation events. “That way, they bonded with the domestic students when they came.”

Some students also took advantage of opportunities to interact with their classmates during MacWard Bound.

“It’s a good transition, being thrown in the woods with a bunch of strangers,” Horowitz said.

As a whole, however, most students viewed orientation as a positive experience.

“Overall they did a good job compared with other schools my friends go to,” Nikita Avdievitch ’13 said.

“I think I met most of the people I talk to now in my orientation group,” Samilee Moody ’13 said.