Five Colleges, Incorporated: Five College Orientation Social 2012

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Hundreds of new students attend Five College orientation social

Students enjoying the Five College Orientation Social Some 350 students from all Five College member campuses came together on January 27 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Fine Arts Center to meet each other, share in great food and enjoy performances by student groups.

The Five College Orientation Social was organized by the consortium's Student Coordinating Board, composed of student government leaders, in consultation with the orientation offices of each campus. It was an effort to welcome the relatively small number of new students who enrolled in January.

"Each of our schools has been continually working to ensure that we are welcoming our mid-year entrants at least as well as we do our fall entrants, and help them to feel welcome in the Valley," said Josiah Litant, associate dean of students at Hampshire College. "This event was designed to capitalize on the small number of entering spring students by offering them a chance to come together in one space and meet each other -- with lots of food, entertainment, and prizes, of course."

Students arriving at the Fine Arts Center were handed a "human bingo" card, which required participants to fill in squares by finding people who fit such descriptions at "knows who Lord Jeff is," "has seen a Picasso at the Smith Museum of Art" and "is taking a course on another campus this semester." Winners received souvenirs from each campus.

Attendees were entertained by a wide range of student performers, including a cappella groups, a step dance troupe, a jazz band and a modern dance group. Provided by UMass Dining Services, the food was the hit of the party. It included a California-roll bar, a fruit bar, a carving station, a stir-fry table and a wide assortment of desserts.

Orientation coordinators in attendance were pleased with the attendance and the results of the social. "Especially with this being the first year of the event, I consider it a tremendous success, and something I expect we will repeat in the future," said Litant.

Photos of the social can be viewed on Flickr and a video of the event can be seen on the Five College Facebook page.

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