THIS YEAR’S Freshman Orientation Seminar (OrSem), dubbed “Lundag,” faced several changes due to the academic calendar shift and city-wide preparations for an imminent earthquake.

OrSem Lundag was held on July 29 and 30, a first compared to previous OrSems usually held in June.

The academic calendar shift prompted the university to officially begin school year 2015-2016 with a summer term called “Intersession,” which lasted from June 8 to July 16, and to start the first semester on August 10.

During Intersession, several renovations were made around school, including those made to the Red Brick Road. Its reconstruction continued until August, coinciding with OrSem.

The Red Brick Road serves as a major pathway for freshmen during OrSem campus tours.

Despite this, OrSem Logistics Committee Head Rafa Andres said that they made the necessary adjustments by adjusting the flow for the campus tours.

Other changes to this year’s OrSem include the increased number of freshmen and the Metro Manila Shake Drill, which occurred on the second day of OrSem.

The Metro Manila Shake Drill aimed to increase citizens’ preparedness for an earthquake and improve the implementation of contingency plans of different sectors in the city.

With many adjustments and challenges, Andres said that OrSem Lundag was “undoubtedly the biggest and most difficult OrSem yet.”

Largest OrSem to date

OrSem Lundag was recorded to have had the highest number of participants in terms of freshmen and volunteers since the first OrSem in 1977.

Organizing Committee (OrCom) Head Celina Tan shared that this year’s OrSem involved roughly 2,600 freshmen and 900 volunteers.

OrSem Entertainment Committee Head Angelo Gatmaytan said that the large number of freshmen was a “double-edged sword” because it had instilled motivation as well as pressure in the OrCom.

Andres explained that a major concern of the OrCom was security. Avoiding incidents such as theft were of high priority.

Andres said that the Logistics Committee had been rigorously training additional Security and Mobilization (SecMob) volunteers to cater to all 100 blocks that were part of OrSem Lundag.

The duty of SecMob volunteers is to ensure the security of freshmen and facilitate the fast mobility of the various blocks.

To ensure safety, OrCom implemented a “No ID, No Entry” policy “not only for the participating freshmen, but also for the volunteers, performers, caterers and sponsors entering OrSem premises.”

The Metro Manila Shake Drill

The university participated in the Metro Manila Shake Drill after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) released warnings of an impending earthquake.

According to PHIVOLCS, an earthquake will affect Metro Manila should the West Valley Fault move.

The West Valley Fault is a 100-kilometer fault line that runs from Rizal to Laguna.

The earthquake drill overlapped with the second day of OrSem. Tan admitted that preparing to participate in the drill was a challenge for OrCom.

Gatmaytan also shared, “the idea of the earthquake drill initially stunned all the committees.”

However, Tan said that all OrSem volunteers were aware of the plans to be implemented and that “everyone [knew] what they [had] to do.”

Moreover, Gatmaytan said that the OrSem Entertainment Committee adjusted the plans that had been made before the announcement of the earthquake drill, in order to “accommodate the said drill without having to sacrifice any activities, or letting external groups compensate for the time lost.”

According to Andres, the Logistics Committee was also “closely coordinating with the security offices regarding the evacuation plans of Ateneo and the earthquake drill.”

He explained that OrCom had notified all volunteers and relevant committees about the situation and that they were fully prepared to execute the drill.

On the theme

On this year’s theme, “Lundag,” Tan shared that it came from OrCom members recalling how they felt during their own OrSems.

Tan shared that they were “uncertain of what would happen in college. It seemed terrifying, but we realized that we had to move forward.”

“We felt like the idea of having courage to move forward and face these uncertainties was the perfect message to bring to the freshmen. Taking a leap of courage, of faith; This led to the word lundag,” Tan said.

Gatmaytan said that aside from the purpose being to encourage freshmen to take risks, the theme is also in reference to Fr. Roque Ferriols, SJ’s famous line “Lundagin mo, Beybe [Leap on it, Baby]!.”

Ferriols was a former professor of the Philosophy Department renowned for his challenging classes and for being one the first professors to teach Philosophy in Filipino.

Jumping in

Despite the challenges the OrCom faced, Tan said that OrSem is about “showing the freshmen that the entire community of Ateneo welcomes them with open arms.”

She explained that it was difficult making the necessary adjustments but, in the end, they made it through.

She added, “[Everyone involved in OrSem] is just so passionate about the event that it makes you see how strong and tightly knitted the Ateneo community is.”

Tan said that the event was a chance to show freshmen the Ateneo way, and that “at the end of the day, no other university does it the way we do.”

“[OrSem] is where [Ateneans] show [freshmen] how to be men and women for others,” she added.