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Orientation collection

 Collection
Identifier: UA12

Biographical / Historical

According to Arthur J. May’s A History of the University of Rochester, the University added an office dedicated to Freshman Orientation Camp in 1919. The earliest orientations consisted of a week before the start of classes when freshmen could familiarize themselves with their classmates and campus through social activities. Incoming students also attended speeches and presentations by University administrators and special guests, and they took placement exams. This orientation was called Freshman Week or Frosh Week. Freshman Week schedules indicate that the Frosh Week Committee, made up of undergraduates, planned the non-academic parts of Orientation. In 1958, the Interpres yearbook highlighted how this committee focused on “activities [embracing] a freshman’s orientation to every aspect of the University, its facilities, staff, and intellectual and social aims.”



As described in the Fall 1967 issue of Rochester Review, Orientation changed in several ways in 1964. In addition to Frosh Week, several earlier, summer sessions were organized and each incoming freshman was assigned to one of two or three sessions. Typically these sessions took place over three days in June, July, or August, so they were known as “Summer Orientation.” This preliminary event focused on activities such as taking identification pictures, receiving advice on college programs, learning about University services, and a few social activities. Additionally, during this student Summer Orientation, a separate program was provided for parents, where they met with administration and became acquainted with the University through various events such as a Social Hour, a Symposium on Academics, and Family Workshops.



The term Frosh Week was no longer used after the 1980s. From 1989 to 1999, Orientation was called Focus on First Year and/or Yellowjacket Days (not to be confused with the Yellowjacket Day/Weekend that occurs near the beginning of the academic year.) Over the years, programs varied in duration from two days to a week. Beginning in 1984, the Freshman Ventures Program was offered to incoming freshmen; it brought together small groups of students and faculty for a year of study around one of four multidisciplinary topics or “Ventures.” In the early 1990s, Wilson Day, a daylong event dedicated to community service, became an important part of Orientation. In 2000, Summer Orientation sessions were discontinued, and a weeklong program, encompassing various events for incoming students and their families, was established a week before the start of classes.



Over time the established staff of the Orientation Office came to include a director, an assistant director, student leaders, and volunteers. Directors and assistant directors work full-time to plan Orientation, ensuring it is well organized, meets students’ needs and state requirements, and stays within budget. Student leaders organize Orientation alongside other staff, while Orientation Volunteers, also students, are responsible for helping freshmen settle in upon arrival to campus.



In the 2010s, Orientation continued traditions established in the 2000s such as having a different theme each year, while providing a wider range of events (for example a fair in the field house where student groups, University offices, and non-University entities have informational tables and offer giveaways). Some highlights from the decade include “Red Light/Green Light,” “Celebrate Diversity,” and the Candlelight Ceremony.

Scope and Contents

The collection contains material related to Orientation programs for first-year undergraduate students, including transfer students, from 1941 onward. Items within the collection tend to address one of three audiences: students, their families, or staff and faculty at the University.



Materials available to students at Orientation have included schedules, welcome packets, and ephemera. Freshman Week schedules (1940s-1960s) list events with their date and time. Student Orientation Program schedules, distributed during the summer from the early 1960s to 2000, include a detailed schedule, maps and directions, placement questionnaires, information about first-years’ courses, departments, and advanced-placement credit. Multiple sessions were often held for Orientation programs in a given year. Some schedules, therefore, resemble one another but are designated for Session I, Session II, or Session III, or by dates of events. In 2000, schedules contained events similar to those offered during Frosh Week and Summer Orientation, as well as newer events covering topics such as communal principles, diversity, sexual misconduct, the Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT), and academic pathways. The collection also contains welcome/enrollment packets from the early 2000s, which contain welcome letters, forms, and information about academics, the academic calendar, financial aid, housing, dining, disability services, information technology, health services, and Public Safety, among other topics. Additional ephemera consists mainly of flyers publicizing student organizations and activities.



Materials intended for families, particularly parents, have included registration forms, program schedules (providing descriptions of events and information about the Parent Orientation Program), guidebooks/handbooks, and flyers. The collection contains guidebooks from 1954 to 1964, with some gaps. The Guidebook for Parents of Freshmen (sometimes titled Guidebook for Parents of Freshman Women or Guidebook for Parents of Freshman Men) addresses topics such as permission for out-of-town travel, academic expectations and grading, student resources (such as freshmen advisers, religious counselors, health officers, social advisers, and vocational counselors), financial aid, dormitory regulations, and a telephone directory. The collection also includes issues of the Parent Handbook from the 1980s to the early 2000s. These contain more detail than earlier guidebooks, covering topics such as academic life, student life, student services, facilities, financial matters, calendars, and maps.



Materials intended for use by staff and faculty tend to focus on the planning of Orientation programs. Material varies by year but often consists of correspondence, speeches, and manuals/handbooks for advisers of first-year students (containing lists of University services, resources available to students, and lists of students’ frequently asked questions).



Ephemera, often not created by but approved by Orientation staff, consists mainly of flyers publicizing organizations and opportunities. The target audience for these is usually students and parents. When a large amount of ephemera is present for a given year, it has been subdivided into the following categories: student organizations and opportunities; parents; and University services, events, and publications.

Creator

Dates

  • Creation: 1941-2018

Language of Materials

English

Extent

2.89 cubic feet (8 containers)

Conditions Governing Access

For access to this collection, please contact the University of Rochester Archives (archives@library.rochester.edu) at least two business days prior to your planned visit.

Please note: Some materials may be restricted or require permission for use.

Conditions Governing Use

To request reproductions or permission to publish materials from the collection, please contact the University of Rochester Archives (archives@library.rochester.edu). Researchers may be responsible for determining any copyright questions.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Transferred from the Orientation Office by Director of Orientation Eleanor Oi beginning in 2013. Two freshman adviser manuals (1991 and 1992) and one transfer adviser manual (Fall 1987) were transferred by Suzanne O'Brien in 2016.

Preferred Citation

[Item title, item date], Orientation Collection, UA12, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Arrangement

Materials, including ephemera, have been arranged chronologically. Within a given year, materials have been organized further according to their intended audience (students, parents/families, or faculty/staff). Additional ephemera, when present, has been placed last in the material in a given year.

Related Materials

College of Arts and Science: Summer Orientation Program Papers, 1971-1972

Student Activities Office: Subject Folders, 1926-1967

Wilson Day Materials

Separated Materials

Issues of the handbook for first-year students have been removed and are available as cataloged materials.

Three-dimensional objects relating to orientation have been added to the Museum Objects Collection. These include T-shirts, sunglasses, bags, and pens, among other items.

University of Rochester course schedules (1968-1969) have been added to the Course Schedules Collection, and issues of the Adviser’s Handbook have been added to that collection.

Bibliography

Interpres, University of Rochester, 1948, page 116.

Interpres, University of Rochester, 1959, page 95.

Interpres, University of Rochester, 1968, page 50.

"For Rochester Students: A Broadening of Curricular Horizons,"Rochester Review, Spring 1984, page 23. Dept. of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, University of Rochester.

May, Arthur J. "Beyond the Curriculum." A History of the University of Rochester . Unabridged Version. Dept. of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, University of Rochester.

"Senior’s Summer," Rochester Review>, Fall 1967, pages 12-13. Dept. of Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, University of Rochester.


Title
Orientation collection
Status
In Progress
Author
Irene Farinas (Class of 2018) and Alma Rocha (Class of 2019)
Date
2017-2018
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Library Details

Part of the University of Rochester Archives Library

Contact:
Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation
River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd.
Rochester New York 14627-0055 USA