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TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
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THE JUSTICE
THE JUSTICE
ORIENTATION 2009
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TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2009
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ORIENTATION 2009
First-year frenzy By SHANA D. LEBOWITZ JUSTICE EDITOR
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
Neatly stacked plastic crates, cardboard boxes of electronics and a rainbow of towels, sheets and prepurchased textbooks slowly crept out from all corners of the campus. Laundry hampers and duffle bags moved from the trunks of vans specially rented for the occasion into the eager embrace of tree-colored orientation leaders. Head-bobbing tunes by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Blondie drowned out directions to one first-year residence hall or another as a voice from a megaphone echoed throughout South Residence Lot: “Welcome, Class of 2013.” The celebrated entrance of Brandeis’ 51st class on Sunday marked the start of Orientation and Welcome Week 2009 for first-year students. This year’s orientation, themed “Here’s to the ones that can’t be ignored,” boasts an array of novel and traditional programs, including campus tours, the Boston Harbor cruise, academic and job fairs and a concert on the Great Lawn with performances by local bands. Author Junot Diaz will visit campus Wednesday to speak to students about his book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which students read this summer. Among the newer items on the orientation agenda are a presentation by
Student Sexuality Information Services and a series of community service projects in Waltham. Programming this year focuses on initiating conversation about diversity and tolerance, with events such as the “Tunnel of Oppression,” an event designed to get students talking about racial prejudice, a dialogue on diversity led by Associate Dean of Student Life Jamele Adams and Triskelion’s LGBTQA breakfast. Orientation leaders meandered through first-year residence halls Sunday evening to pry new students from farewell embraces with parents and siblings. As the sun began to set and the bubble of humidity covering the Brandeis campus slowly lifted, herds of new students trickled onto the Great Lawn for the annual New Student BBQ. Prompted by a spontaneous eruption of dance music, orientation leaders leapt into an eclectic series of choreographed twirls, jumps and flailing arms designed to set the wildly upbeat tone for the upcoming days of orientation. From the sighting of the first car rolling onto the Brandeis campus to the casual waves goodbye that launched near 1,000 students into their college careers, this year’s move-in day was as typically overwhelming as it was warm and energy-packed. These photos highlight the diversity of activity that made up the cheerful chaos on campus Sunday.
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
RAISING SPIRITS: University President Jehuda Reinharz and Dean of Student Life Rick Sawyer spoke to students about what to expect out of their four years at Brandeis at the Brandeis Beginnings ceremony in Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. Above, Sawyer gets students excited for their Brandeis careers at the ceremony while Reinharz and other presenters look on in amuseument. MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
SETTLING IN: Top, at the New Student Barbeque Sunday, the Great Lawn and the area outside the campus center were dotted with orientation groups sitting in circles, getting to know each other through creative icebreakers and loud games. Above, new students arrived in cars filled to the brim with equipment for their first year of living in a college dormitory. Some students came up with especially innovative techniques for packing.
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
DAVID SHEPPARD-BRICK/the Justice
MEETING AND GREETING: Brandeis administrators, staff and student employees and volunteers all pitched in to make move-in day a success. Left, University President Jehuda Reinharz and a staff member speak with a community adviser as new students move into their residence halls. Above, community advisers stood out in bright red T-shirts and put on friendly faces as they handed out hundreds of keys to students’ new residence halls. Right, the Great Lawn teemed with first-year students, orientation leaders, community advisers and Brandeis staff at the New Student BBQ Sunday evening. Groups of students hung out on the Great Lawn with hamburgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers and talked to their orientation leaders about Brandeis life. Orientation leaders surprised students when they spontaneously performed a well-choreographed series of dance moves to some funky tunes and cheered for the opening of Orientation and Welcome Week 2009.
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
A NEW START: Above and below, students hugged families goodbye outside Gosman before the Brandeis Beginnings ceremony. Their tearful embraces marked the students’ official transitions to independence. Left, students were eager to finally see their new residence halls and move in as they dragged their luggage from the parking lots.
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
HELPING HANDS: Left, new students were all ears at the Brandeis Beginnings ceremony, where Reinharz and Sawyer were among the speakers. Above, orientation leaders exhibited superhuman strength as they carried crates, boxes and other paraphernalia for students’ first year living in college dormitories. Jeffrey Cornejo ’10 maintained a pleasant demeanor as he helped a new student moved in. Right, Wei Sum Li ’10 gave a new student and his mother directions.
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice
MAX BREITSTEIN MATZA/the Justice