I don't know about you, but I loved Frosh-O.
Who wouldn't love that wonderful weekend where freshmen are forced to endure 72 hours of solid awkwardness and where all manner of comfortable conversation goes to die?
I had to sit in the scorching hot basement of Pangborn eating stale pancakes and making painful small talk with God-only-knows how many girls I'd never remember. I had to crack an egg on my head as part of some perverted version of Duck-Duck Goose. On the plus side, I got to run into DomerFest drenched in sweat and wearing the coolest-looking orange beanie ever. (Can you say chick magnet?)
I've heard a rumor that whoever's in charge of this incredibly important (albeit uncomfortable) staple of a freshman's year wants to make some changes. Now, if these changes included requiring everyone to wear a nametag including their name, hometown, and intended major, I'd be all for them. These proposed adjustments, however, are much more drastic (not to mention much less convenient).
The first proposal I've heard is that RAs should be in charge of Frosh-O. According to these rumors, there would still be a Frosh-O staff of sophomores and they would still organize interhall events - but these events would be attended and run by RAs.
As a result, the number of sophomores on each dorm's Frosh-O staff would likely be cut in half. I have no real evidence to prove this. It's just that I'm a freshman this year and I want the opportunity to do to next year's rookies the same things that were done to me. People tell me I have anger management issues.
The second rumor I heard was the one that really annoyed me. Apparently, the people in charge of Frosh-O think it's a good idea to cut the amount of time allotted for events in half so freshmen can spend more time with their parents while they're on campus.
As my fellow Observer staffer Katie Peralta said in a moment of sophomore wisdom, "Baby bird's gotta fly." Does any more really need to be said? Considering I still have about a hundred words of space to fill, yes, more does need to be said.
Don't worry, reader, it'll all be over soon.
My major problem with this proposal is that freshmen have had 18 years to spend time with their parents, not to mention an entire summer to prepare for their move to college. Frosh-O is a time when freshmen need to learn a little self-sufficiency, and the key to this is to maximize their time away from their parents.
It's not about meeting fellow Domers from around campus (because honestly, who remembers more than a handful of people they met during Frosh-O?). It's about being able to walk into classes a few days later, and not just sitting there, awkwardly staring at your perfectly arranged set of pencils, but turning to the person next to you and introducing yourself.
So if the powers-that-be really want to welcome freshmen to Notre Dame, they should do it in the most painful and awkward way possible.
