Traditions and unique activities spice up freshmen orientation

Howard University freshman Christopher Taylor was relaxing in his dorm room when someone banged on his door demanding that he make his way downstairs. Every freshman boy residing in Charles R. Drew Hall received a similar command. It was just the beginning to a night that would have a lasting impression on him.

Every year the residence assistants of Drew Hall -- a dorm that houses nearly 350 freshmen males at Howard University -- hold a ceremony for their new residents. The goal of the ceremony is to instill a sense of pride in the dorm and create bonds among the young men who will inevitably become family over the next nine months.

“That ceremony really made me appreciate my dorm,” Taylor said. “I got to see that random people aren’t looking after me. They (residence assistants) are really smart guys…good people that care.”

To establish trust and camaraderie, every freshman stood up and placed their hands on the shoulders of the man in front of them during the entire ceremony. They did this to show that “they had each other’s backs.”

The highlight of the ceremony for 18-year-old Taylor was the “Burning of the Fears.”

“We all had to write down a fear we had for the school year and toss it into the fire,” said Taylor.

The fear he burned that night was the fear of leaving this earth without making a positive impression.

This is just one of the many unique ways colleges and universities around the country are welcoming the Class of 2016 to college life and encouraging them to adopt the spirit of the school -- their home away from home.

Syracuse University routinely welcomes the incoming freshmen by teaching them one of the school’s special traditions -- the “Freshman Stomp” also known as the “Dome Jump.”

Students stand within the arched cut outs along the outside walls of the Carrier Dome and stomp, creating a thunderous echo.

“Everyone has to do it when they first come to campus,” said Jason Weingold, a freshman from Randolph, New Jersey. “You just jump and stomp and it makes this really big echo. During the orientation we had a campus scavenger hunt and we were required to take a picture of someone doing it.”

The Syracuse community also welcomed the incoming class by introducing them to city and making them feel at home. The students got to check out Armory Square, where they enjoyed free samples from local restaurants and street performances.

Weingold said although the orientation didn’t increase his school spirit (he has wanted to attend Syracuse since he was in 7th grade) it did make him feel more prepared.

“It made me feel so much more comfortable,” said Weingold. “People told me it seemed like I had already been here for years.”

The orientation program at the University of San Francisco has evolved since senior Chantelle Duncan was a freshman. It seems like universities are not only looking to get students acquainted with the campus, but also with the surrounding community.

“The off-campus activities were not a part of the welcome weekend when I was a freshman,” said Duncan.

The GO (Get Oriented) Team at USF now provides new students with free activities like trips to Alcatraz, Chinatown, Ghiradelli Square and Golden Gate Park.

Content with having the company of her twin sister and friends from high school, the activities the university provided did not interest Duncan as a freshman.

The Sacramento native says that missing freshman orientation activities doesn’t mean you can’t have fun or make friends.

“You can still meet people in the residence halls, in class and at clubs,” she said. “I feel the activities are good for people who don’t typically meet people in class or on their floor.”

So never fear if you skipped out on activities for new students. But make sure you don’t miss out on anything else because you may have regrets in the future.

“If I could start over, I would have participated in them more,” said Duncan.

Jordan Duckens is a Summer 2012 Paste BN Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.

This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.