There is room for improvement within first-year student orientation
By Hassan Al-Momani
Western Herald
Orientation is one of the most important activities that each university makes for its new students.
The main purpose of it is to familiarize the new students with the systems of the university and the educational environment where they will receive their education.
Additionally, all universities in the world try to prepare the students psychologically to get used to their new surroundings so they can overcome the shock of a new place and a new way of life.
Furthermore, the process of orientation is highly needed for the international students.
These students are at a higher risk of falling victim of cultural shock, induced by coming to a new environment that is vastly different from that in their home country.
Based on the importance of orientation, our university should work hard on minimizing the difficulties that the first-year students might have here.
There should be an organized plan for receiving the new students and familiarizing them with the grounds and the faculty.
It would be a great idea if the university would organize some trips and visits to downtown Kalamazoo for international students because there are many students who come from different states and different countries without knowing the city.
Also, receiving the students from the airport in Kalamazoo would be wonderful because they could make them feel a little bit more comfortable about coming into such a strange city.
The laws of the university are highly important for the new students because a lot of students might violate the laws without knowing them.
Thus, these students might be punished for their mistakes. This regularly happens for the international students who come from different cultures and environments. What is acceptable in their cultures and traditions might be illegal and unsuitable in the American law and culture.
Students should carefully study the laws and regulations of the university.
Another element that is highly needed is to increase the cultural and sociable activities at WMU. These activities will minimize the stressful situation from which a lot of new students suffer.
Additionally, these activities will help the students to be more friendly and sociable with each other.
The main purpose of these activities is to make the new students like their new environment and to get familiar with their surroundings, including their peers.
In addition to that, it would be a great idea if the university would provide the international students and local students with some guidelines or booklets about the characteristics and traditions of the American culture and the international students’ cultures.
These short descriptions of the American and international cultures will help both types of students understand each other very well.
From my own experience WMU Orientation in 2007, I think that Western Michigan is working very hard to receive the new students comfortably and it seems to be working well.
These helpful activities are noticed by all students; however, students are eager for more improvements in the plans of the orientation process.
For example, we want our university to orient us to the Kalamazoo community and the places that we may need to know and visit.
Additionally, the laws of the university should be in the hands of each student because punishment will not be fair if the student does not know about the laws.
Thus, orienting the students with the laws of the university is an essential part for making them avoid falling into trouble with their professors and with the university.
Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=19519
Posted by HeraldAdmin
on Aug 29 2010. Filed under Editorial, Opinion.
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I agree that there should be a more rigorous process for the international students. However, the orientation to downtown Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo community is done during Fall Welcome. Freshman Orientation is only 2 days, which is not a long time to discover all there is to do in Kalamazoo. Fall Welcome is closer to when school starts and is a week long. If the familiarization to the Kalamazoo area was done in June with Freshman Orientation, nobody would remember. Not very many people remember their way around campus when they come to campus at the end of the summer from their orientation in June. Personally, I think that Fall Welcome should be mandatory, but I do not think that an orientation to the Kalamazoo community is appropriate in June, 2 months before the student comes back to start school.