It is tradition within the College of Arts and Science that before a high school graduate moves into his or her dorm freshman year he or she goes through what is known as summer orientation, a three-day-long experience that introduces the new class of students to Greenwich Village through walking tours to Magnolia Bakery and awkward icebreakers. It is a time to network and connect with future friends, in hope that, come Welcome Week, you will not be alone and scared.
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However, CAS is ditching the orientation program this summer and replacing it with what will be known as Collegiate Cohorts — a Stern-esque program that will divide the class into groups of 36, each with a faculty advisor and leader. Instead of being charged the $335 orientation fee, along with additional plane, train or bus tickets for those who live outside New York, the cohorts will meet during Welcome Week for the first time and will stay together until commencement, four years later.
The WSN Editorial Board respects NYU's cost-saving rationale behind the shift; during rough economic times, any administrative decision that helps on the financial behalf of the students must be recognized. Although Welcome Week is already a hugely beneficial program, we have concerns about the lack of an introduction to the city beforehand and the results of the cohorts on students' development.
A main part of college is figuring things out on your own; if students have mandatory four-year commitments, will this be effective networking or forced grouping? Also, after a few weeks into freshman year, it is possible that students will have already made friends elsewhere, thus decreasing their enthusiasm for the cohorts. But the opposite could happen: The cohort could foster friendships that are college- or life-long.
After one year, the WSN Editorial Board proposes that NYU gathers feedback from the cohorts and the general consent of students' feelings towards its activities. This will help the university get a better indication of whether four years is better than three days.
