Meredith
August 27,2003
ERALD
Volume XVVI, Issue I
Round the Bases With
Orientation 2003
MARGARET ANN
COONEY
Managing Editor
The bases are loaded.
With two strikes already,
the pitcher winds up. It’s a
fast one, the batter swings.
It’s going, going, it’s out of
here! That’s right, orienta
tion 2003 was a homerun
this year for the new class
of 2007 and transfer stu
dents.
The orientation tlieme,
"A League of Our Own",
described it all for the
newly arrived Meredith stu
dents. Meredith College
pulled out all the stops and
embraced the class of 2007
with open arms, welcoming
a whole new batch of fresh
man along with those trans
ferring to Meredith. With
baseball themed shirts, cur
rent Meredith students, fac
ulty and administration
have been working tireless
ly to make sure that 2004's
orientation is the best yet.
Orientation is an essen
tial building block for any
newcomer to the college
life. The goal is to help
students' transition to col
lege life as easily as possi
ble, while making a few
SGA PresidenTErin Hege and other members of the Meredith community wel
come the class of 2007 during orientation. Photo courtesy of Marketing
iriends and learning about
the campus along the way.
What seems like an over
whelming week to those
participating in orientation,
quickly transforms into an
experience that will enrich
their new life at Meredith.
"My orientation process
was stress-free due to the
attentiveness of my Student
Advisor and the organiza
tion of the events," said
freshman Audrey Tamer, "I
feh welcomed and prepared
for my year ahead."
On the inside:
RHA update on page 2
Tales of study abroad on page 3
Cheap fun in Raleigh on page 2
Is obesity an epidemic? Find out on page 4
In order to make orienta
tion a success, everyone in
the Meredith community
had a part to play. Current
students can volunteer a
few days prior to the start
of orientation as part of
their involvement on cam
pus Resident Assistants
performed room , checks and
took part in situational
analysis that serve to make
campus living a more
enjoyable part of Meredith
life. Student Advisors,
attended training sessions
organized to help them
effectively communicate
and become an information
resource along with a
friendly face to new stu
dents. Orientation Crew,
woke up before sunrise to
create the balloon arch that
greeted arriving students,
and participated in activi
ties all week including a
skit. The crew also assisted
students and parents alike
during Orientation.
Amanda Denny, a senior,
served as Transfer Student
Ambassador Chief. "I real
ly enjoyed being the
Transfer Student
Ambassador Chief this
year! We had a wonderful
group of Transfer Student
Ambassadors that made
orientation week very suc-
cessfijl." Amanda further
explained that, "This year
the ambassadors went
through more training than
they have been through in
the past.” Part of this train
ing was made for the pitt-
pose of making the ambas
sadors a better class liaison
reference. Incoming trans
fer students were given the
opportunity to decide if
they would like to attend
traditional age or non-tradi>
tional age orientation.
Attendance was better this
year for the functions and
events during orientation
than in the past
Sophomore Lindsey
French also enjoyed her
experience as part of orien
tation crew. '”1 remember
when I came to Meredith
last year and the first
noticeable thing I saw was
the balloon arch. Since
then, I knew I wanted to
take part in the orientation
experience,” stated Lindsey.
"I wanted to make the new
freshman class' orientation
as exciting as my own and
I knew as a member of
Orientation Crew I could
make this possible.”
Within their first few
steps onto campus^ it
became evident to all new
students that being a stu
dent at Meredith College is
a unique opportunity and
experience, one of which is
shared between fortunate
women everywhere who
can say they went to
Meredith and it was "a
League of Our Own".
"I’ve wanted to come to
Meredith since I was in
third grade. I’ve always
known that this is the place
for me," explained fresh
man Meredith Bell,
"Orientation just confirmed
what I have thought all my
life: Meredith College is
my ideal college and I plan
on making my four years
here the best!"