Somewhere in a strange land, an annual ritual is occurring, in which tribal leaders welcome new members into the tribe. This weeklong festival commences with the young inductees’ parents leaving them to fend for themselves for the first time, continues with a night of raucous noisemaking and excessive energy, and finishes with a ceremony as the new members are formally received into the tribe.

Where is this happening? A remote jungle or desert? Nope. It’s going on right here on Carnegie Mellon’s campus.

The class of 2010 has finally arrived. Out of the over 1,400 first-years, at least one student is represented from 44 different states – excluding Mississippi, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, and the Dakotas – and 31 countries from Canada to Myanmar to the United Arab Emirates. This class is the largest freshman class that Carnegie Mellon has ever received.

Orientation began inauspiciously this past Sunday, August 20.  Move-in went mostly smoothly. Many students found the OC’s, RA’s, and all other movers to be very helpful; Tepper first-year Camilo Cadena remarked that the Donner staff helped tremendously. In the late afternoon, President Cohon addressed the incoming first-years and their parents, telling the parents that they are welcome on campus anytime but joked that they should really get out of there by 7:00 p.m. so that the students could get ready for Orientation. Soon after, they did so, bidding students their tearful goodbyes. The first-years soldiered on, joining their dormitories for various activities that night and the next morning and afternoon.

However, on Monday night the students merged into one large group for that momentous activity that many upperclassmen remember as one of the turning points of their lives: Playfair. Yes, these students crammed themselves into Gesling Stadium, as Carnegie Mellon first-years have been doing for years, and completed such remarkable tasks as forming groups with others of the same birth month and then sitting on each others’ knees in a big circle. The relentless energy of the Playfair team and Orientation staff, as well as some fresh beats, kept the party rocking until everyone had met tons of new people and made friendships that will hopefully last a lifetime.

So what did students think about Carnegie Mellon after being here for only a couple of days? For most, it was too soon to make any judgments, positive or negative. Some, such as Levent Altinoglu, a first-year economics major from Arizona, noticed that the weather here is currently very refreshing. Some also noticed the dorms; while most students received excellent accommodations, some, like first-year cognitive science major Janine Dutcher, complained of small Morewood Gardens triples. But, of course, getting used to a smaller room is one of those quintessential college challenges.

As Orientation week continues, undoubtedly many first-years will open up and begin to enjoy this campus for the paradise that it is, while others will wish they were still slacking off the last few halcyon days of summer at home. One thing is for sure: this week will be like nothing they have experienced before.

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