THE 2013 Ateneo Freshmen Orientation Seminar (OrSem), held in the College Covered Courts last June 6 and 7, was cut down from three days to two due to “redundancy,” said OrSem Committee Head JB Capinpin.

“Why are there so many course and departmental talks?” he asked in a mix of English and Filipino.

Capinpin said that, in previous OrSems, the freshmen attend three such talks: The prep course, the course and departmental talks organized by the OrSem Committee (OrCom), and the Office of Student Affairs’ course presentations.

“It wastes time, energy and resources,” he said.

To solve this issue, OrCom removed the council tours this year.

Stops for the Department of Student Welfare and Services, the Sanggunian, the Council of Organizations in the Ateneo (COA), the Confederation of Publications and the Intramurals Athletics Council have likewise been excluded in the campus tours.

According to Capinpin, the inclusion of the council tours in past OrSems gave the participating groups an unfair advantage. He noted that the only opportunity other organizations have to promote themselves to the freshmen is during Recruitment Week in June.

However, the other OrSem activities have been retained.

“We’re left with the Irwin Show presentations, where school administrators and faculty members talk, [the] group dynamic session[s], talks by Sanggu, COA, [the] Ateneo Environmental Management Coalition and [the] OrSem film,” Capinpin said.

“We have a more efficient OrSem this year,” he added.

Other changes

Capinpin also said that this year’s food budget was increased from P60 to P80 per freshman.

This year, OrCom also prohibited “MOB-ing,” which required freshmen to run during tours for faster mobilization. The removal was due to complaints that OrCom received from parents.

“Reklamo ng parents na parang binabaka ‘yung mga anak nila (Parents complained that it’s like their children are being herded),” Capinpin told The GUIDON in a text message.

Instead, freshmen were made to “brisk walk” like last year, he added.

This year’s OrSem adopted the theme “Layag” to capture the sense of the Atenean journey.

“You’re looking out to the vast unknown with all these people you barely know,” OrCom Vice-chairperson Vicky Marquez said.

“We’re hoping that OrSem can be that thing that finally pushes [the freshmen] to set sail by familiarizing them with their shipmates,” she added.

Adjusting to the changes      

According to Talks and Tours (TNT) Deputy Roy Choapeck, the TNT volunteers were not disadvantaged by the reduction of OrSem to two days.

“In a TNT [volunteer’s] perspective, one less day with the freshmen simply means that we have to make those two days worth it,” he said.

“It means that we can allot that extra one-day worth of energy, happiness and love during those two days by giving it our all, from the welcoming in the college covered courts until [the time we say] goodbye to our blocks,” Choapeck added.

TNT Tour Head Shelly Legaspi shared the same sentiment. “The shift to the two-day OrSem this year only challenged us to do better and give more for the freshmen,” she said.

The OrSem passion

Legaspi shared that her first year as a TNT volunteer allowed her to understand the passion for having a freshmen block.

For her, the essence of being a TNT volunteer is captured by the words “Ang TNT, hindi bumibigay, kahit bigay nang bigay (A TNT volunteer does not give up, even if he or she does not stop giving).”

“OrSem is the warmest welcome you could possibly give to someone uncertain about his first day in college,” Legaspi said.

Meanwhile, Marquez shared that seeing so many volunteers putting their time and effort during her own OrSem experience inspired her to volunteer this year.

Capinpin, on the other hand, said that becoming the OrCom head was not in his plans. “When I was part of the logistics committee, I only dreamed of becoming logistics head,” he said.

He explained that after OrSem 2012, he felt a need to run as OrCom head.

“Being [part of the] Logistics [Committee] for the past years gave me an idea of what they did,” he said.

“I saw how the volunteers give their time and effort… even though it’s summer. If they can contribute and give themselves to OrSem, why can’t I?” he added.

During OrSem, freshman management of applied chemistry major Franco Chavez shared that the charisma and spirit of the TNTs and Security and Mobilization were infectious.

“OrSem is really tiring, but the fun I’m experiencing now is truly worth the exhaustion,” he said.