Freshman Orientation

This week marks the beginning of another school year for many–in my case, it’s the beginning of my final semester of seminary. As I was pondering the start of new school year–you know, buying crayons (with the sharpener on the box, of course), Trapper Keepers, and those dull scissors, I came across this article by a student in Indianapolis regarding freshmen orientations at secular universities. Abby Nye writes:

The first shocker was Freshman Orientation, which you should know right now is a terrible misnomer. The correct term would be Freshman Indoctrination. Many schools basically hold students hostage for three or four days and attempt to reprogram their brains on matters of moral relativism, tolerance, gay/lesbian/transgendered rights, postmodernism, and New Age spirituality. Orientation skits sent messages like, “it’s okay to have premarital sex, just use a condom,” “underage drinking is accepted (and expected), but if you have sex when you’re drunk you have the right to press charges for rape,” “homosexuality is normal, get used to it.” And that was all before the first day of classes started.

This reminded me of my own freshman orientation just over ten years ago (has it been that long?…). The scene has changed little since then. I can remember the “heart to heart” conversation my group had with the orientation adviser on the roof of one of the dorms. He told us in candid terms how to sneak girls into the dorm, how to sneak beer into the dorm, and how we should sneak through college on the minimum twelve hours per semester. Sneaky guy.

I did, however, encounter one other Christian, and we skipped the date-rape seminar and played a round of billiards. Orientation was, for the most part, a joke. It was indeed more akin to a poorly veiled attempt at indoctrination by the so-called “free thinking” crowd than an introduction to true college life.

That said, I do believe that the secular university is great place, though difficult at times, for Christian students to be. I’m sure Christian schools have their advantages, but in my experience I was forced to depend on God more in this often hostile environment. Be sure to read the article for Abby Nye’s worthy advice to those entering college.