Dis-Orientation

It's Orientation season on campus. 

This means that nine times this month, the university will host freshmen and their parents for an intensive two-day overload of information. A part of orientation is what Ole Miss calls the "Rebel Roundup" - a time for all student organizations to set up a display on a table so the freshmen can begin to learn about all the organizations on campus. Usually, the set up consists of tables lined up down a sidewalk facing one another. When the students all come walking down the line, they are like herded cattle roaming mindlessly down a gauntlet. Most students and parents pass by with a blank stare, overwhelmed by all the different offerings. It is quite possibly the most disorienting time of orientation. 

And yet, we find ourselves here every year. We have cards, cups, and a board with lots of fun pictures. But so does everyone else. Every organization and campus ministry is hoping to get their small piece of the freshmen pie. But is it these things that will draw people to our ministry? Can we really sell ourselves through printed materials and friendly images?

The answer, of course, is no. 

If we really want to engage students and get them interested in the story we're telling through our ministry, then we must de-disorient them. We must look them in the eye with a smile and remind them that they are a person again; not a head of cattle being herded to the next session. By personally engaging those who walk by our table, we have the opportunity to truly orient them for their time in college. Of all the different organizations represented on the gauntlet, we are not offering another extracurricular to list on the resume, but an invitation to be a part of a story that will define their lives.

In all honesty, I've never really enjoyed the orientation sessions. The aforementioned setup, the summer heat, and the limited interactions make for a long, hot summer night. But this year I am reminding myself that it is orientation, and I am hoping to orient the students to something that will change their lives.