Volume 96, Issue 25
Thursday, October 10, 2002
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O-week's future: all cards are on the table
By Chris
Webden
Gazette Staff
Orientation Week may never look the same, as the University Students' Council and Western's administration prepare to investigate the structure and programming of the infamous fun-filled week.
At last night's USC meeting, a plan was unveiled to establish an Orientation Strategic Planning Group that will be responsible for carrying out an audit of Fall Orientation and developing a strategic plan that will outline an efficient model for the week to be used in years to come.
"Because of the yearly turnover of sophs and Orientation Week planners, we have built on years past, but have lacked any type of long-term objective," said USC President Chris Sinal.
A document outlining the plan, prepared by Sinal, USC VP-student affairs Lil Chieh, USC general manager Mark Sellars, and Susan Grindrod, director of Western's Housing and Ancillary Services, was handed to councillors at last night's meeting.
According to the document, the strategic plan will outline the program's goals and direction and will serve to focus the efforts of the USC and Western's administration to produce an Orientation program that is among Canada's best.
The document explained the OSPG will include six members. Three members will be appointed by the USC and the other three by Western administration.
The members of the group will have the requisite knowledge necessary to examine the issues surrounding the Fall Orientation Program, while being divested enough to examine the program objectively, the document explains.
According to Sinal, problems in past Orientation Weeks have stemmed from a lack of agreement between the USC and administration concerning the fundamental issues of the week. By forming this committee, Sinal suggested these issues will be resolved and a better agreement between the two parties will be reached.
"This initiative is important, because, if it works the way it is supposed to, it will eliminate the problems that have been slowly, but consistently, growing for the past six years," Chieh said, adding she hopes the OSPG will analyze the Fall Orientation program from a careful and critical perspective.
Paul Yeomen, social science head soph, said the OSPG has the potential to greatly affect the Orientation experiences of first-year students in the coming years.
"My hope is that, whatever the [OSPG] decides, it will be a positive decision and will be of great benefit to the future of Fall Orientation," Yeomen said.
According to last night's meeting, the initiative will be debated and voted on at the next USC meeting, scheduled for Oct. 23. If approved by the USC, OSPG will be required to submit monthly progress reports with a final strategic plan to be completed no later than Mar. 1, 2003, for implementation in Fall Orientation 2004.