Nothing compares to the feeling an OL would feel when he or she meets their orientation group for the first time. Unfortunately for Christopher Sabatino and I, we did not have the chance to experience this feeling for the third orientation session last summer.
Staff members of Residence Life, including Jason Bozzone, director of Student Activities, and Dr. Christine Lysionek, vice President of something on campus (no one really knows what she does), thought that what Chris and I had done could be compared to the Black Death. What Chris and I have done seems like something that happens every night for some of us. We watched a movie with three female orientation students. Yep. That’s it. That’s why we were fired.
One of the rules was that if an OL was in a room alone with a student, the door had to be open. There were three OLs in the room and three students in the room while we watched “Signs,” starring Mel Gibson. There was never a time during the movie where any of us had left the room, therefore, nobody was alone with another person. Why did we get fired? Maybe there will be a better clarification from somebody other than the Director of Student Activities or Vice President of Student Development, because the words I remember are “infringed, 4:30 a.m., released.”
The past summer was a summer I will never forget due to many reasons. The friendship we, the orientation leaders, had over the summer was something that could not be broken, or so we thought. Late night trips with the gang on Mike Sofia’s Tour of Philly will be something I will never forget, because it was my first time to Lorenzo’s, the best pizza on South Street, preceded by Pat’s. Although I keep in contact with about two of the OLs, I say hello to four others, and I am non-existent to the rest; it was an experience everybody should try to have.
Although this letter is about the orientation process, my point has gotten across. There are many pros and cons to being an OL. To all of you who have applied for the OL job, make sure you know that you are on a tight rope. Try not to make too close of friends with any of the students, because if you want to be friendly and decide to watch a movie, you will be fired. That is not a warning or a threat, it is a promise. Please be aware that if you do make a mistake, some of the people in the Office of Student Activities will hope that the worst will happen. (I think some people need to adjust their thoughts). Good Luck with the interviews and have fun not being paid. Cheers!
Jeff Foley
sophomore
Posted to the web by Lauren Joseph
