Carleton’s fall orientation will be hosted primarily online for the second year in a row.
Described in the Student Experience Office’s (SEO) YouTube video as a “jam-packed week of fun virtual experiences,” orientation will start on Sept. 5 and conclude on Sept. 10.
Centralized fall orientation, or Frosh, is open to incoming students in the faculties of science, public affairs and arts and social science, while the Sprott School of Business and the department of engineering and design host separate orientations called Sprosh and EngFrosh, respectively.
Participation for fall orientation costs $69.99, an increase from last year’s $49.99, and includes a Ravens starter kit filled with Carleton merchandise that can be shipped to students’ homes for an additional fee.
Organized by the SEO, a number of events are hosted in collaboration with student groups such as the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) and Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA).
“Frosh Week is super super important to ensure that all the students can greatly enhance their experience and make those connections right off the bat,” said Daisy Kasper, CUSA vice president (student life). “Rather than learning about all those things in their second or third year.”
CUSA is hosting only two events during the week: a DJ at home dance party and a game show night in collaboration with RRRA. Kasper said CUSA wanted to give room for student groups to introduce themselves to incoming students.
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“We really just wanted to create that space for other groups on campus to showcase and highlight how they support students and give students in their first week of school a taste of everything that’s available to them on campus,” Kasper said.
The full schedule also includes events hosted by the Arab Students League, the Campus Activity Board, the Mawandoseg Centre and many more.
“Definitely some of the events that were run last year were super engaging for students,” Kasper said. “But because it was our first full orientation running online we didn’t really know how a lot of the events would go.”
Kasper said that is why the Ravens Zone was introduced—a daily activity hosted on Microsoft Teams to create a casual environment for students to connect with one another.
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Grace Haime, the student engagement and orientation coordinator, said the SEO brought back specific events that were especially successful and compatible with the virtual platform.
“Games like epic bingo and trivia nights and so on were really popular. So we’ve tried to include a few of those throughout the week,” Haime said.
Fitness activities hosted with Carleton Athletics and the Wellness Centre were also successful and Haime said they also chose to include more of them in this year’s schedule.
Despite the virtual platform, Haime said the SEO is expecting a higher turnout from last year because of an increase in enrolment. The turnout last year was slightly more than 2,000 participants.
Alex De Coteau-Nedd has participated in five years of Frosh events, first as an incoming student at Carleton and then as a volunteer.
“Fall orientation made my transition [to Carleton] a lot easier and if it wasn’t for the people I met and the experience I had, I think it’s fair to say I might not still be at Carleton today,” De Coteau-Nedd said in an email to the Charlatan.
For Carleton’s first virtual Frosh week, he was head of a team of volunteers. While he understands that necessary precautions were required in planning this year’s orientation, De Coteau-Nedd said that last year’s format resulted in a loss of interest from both volunteers and incoming students.
“It’s unfortunate to say but Carleton loses a lot from hosting another virtual orientation rather than returning to in-person,” De Coteau-Nedd said. “Of course, majority of that decision is something that cannot be controlled which makes it even more unfortunate.”
Jordan Lipson, an incoming student in computer science, is attending orientation but expressed slight disappointment that orientation is being held online this year.
“I would say I am a little bit disappointed [that Frosh is online] but of course there’s a reason why they chose to do it and that was probably based on a lot of decision making,” said Lipson. “I’m supportive, but personally I do wish that it was in person.”
The only events on-campus are outdoor movie nights, one of which is a drive-in movie. The in-person events follow Ottawa Public Health safety measures and require attendees to register in advance.
Lipson said that she wanted to attend Frosh because she thought that it would be a good way to connect with other Ravens and she heard from older students that it was a good experience.
“I would be lying if I said online fall orientation was anything like the real deal, but I can honestly say that it is still an experience worth participating in. When you look past all the difficulties and differences, you see that the heart of the program hasn’t changed at all,” De Coteau-Nedd said. “It’s absolutely, undeniably, unequivocally worth it.”
Feature graphic by Sara Mizannojehdehi.
