The tail end of incoming freshmen and transfer students swarming campus will be beneath stately oaks and broad magnolias today as the sixth of eight orientation session runs until Friday.
Orientation students, often easily identified by purple gift bags on backs or confused looks while pondering maps, began coming to campus for the first normal session on June 10, and the last group will finish scheduling August 17, only six days before fall classes begin.
“As an orientation leader, I’ve seen a lot of friendships form and even incoming students find roommates for the entire next year,” said Millena Williams, mass communication senior and orientation team leader. “We tell students it’s all about finding a balance and in the first year not overloading  yourself but being comfortable.”
Bonnie Alford, director of the Office of Orientation, said the orientation program is mandatory for all incoming students, and the two-day process shows students the “two-way street” of what to expect from the University and what the school expects in return, like the LSU Commitment to Community.”We want to just get the students on campus to experience LSU firsthand,” Alford said. “From there we’ll teach them all the things they will need on a day-to-day basis as a student here at LSU.”
Williams said she knows some upperclassmen may be frustrated by the incoming students’ inundation of campus parking and dining facilities, but she seldomly hears complaints, and many of the facilities the groups use are reserved in advance. She encouraged students to remember going through that process when coming to the University.
“The students coming here for orientation really appreciate seeing the current students on campus,” she said. “If campus were empty, it wouldn’t be as exciting for them.”Alford said the class of 2014 is larger than the 2013 class, forcing the Orientation office to increase the last three sessions to 600 students each compared to 500 at each of the first five. Incoming students will hear from numerous campus departments including Residential Life, Student Life and the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transporation. Optional sessions include learning about money management, student organizations and strategies for academic success, among other topics.
“All of the sessions will help the incoming students learn to balance their social, campus and academic lives,” Alford said.
Parents and families of orientation students are also invited to campus for the orientation process, and Alford said while the families and students participate in some sessions together, others, like advising and scheduling, are for the students only. “The parents program will teach you when to be a tug boat and when to be a helicopter,” Alford said of knowing when a parent should pull a student along compared to when the parents should “hover above” the student for guidance. 
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Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]