Fearing that every function at Dillard would be like orientation week, freshmen looked to homecoming to prove them wrong.
Freshmen orientation lacked entertaining events and many students were not pleased.
"We paid $200 for t-shirts and a pool-party?the rest were lectures," said Ashley Quinn, a freshman biology major from Jackson, Miss.
Consequently, orientation had some freshmen doubting whether they had chosen the right university. For some, that cloud of doubt disappeared with homecoming and the student government may have been the reason.
Rance Johnson, chaplain of the Student Government Association, said the SGA had a major role in organizing homecoming, while orientation was handled mainly by administration. "Orientation was more academic. We tried to have things that were more interactive and social," said Johnson.
Some students recognized the change and were pleased with homecoming. "Homecoming was actually better than what I expected," said Courtney Bradford, a freshman biology major from Shreveport, La. "Orientation had me thinking that every other function at Dillard wouldn’t be worth going to."
"I didn’t go to orientation so homecoming was popping to me, especially laser tag. I was turning flips and shooting people," said Chalin Kelly, a freshman business management major from Hartford, Conn.
While some freshmen acknowledged the improvement from orientation to homecoming, others were not impressed.
"I didn’t expect homecoming to be too much of nothing and it wasn’t nothing so I wasn’t surprised," said Eric Bailey, a freshman business management major from Little Rock, Ark. "This campus is boring."
Bennie James, a freshman political science major from Mobile, Ala. said, "Homecoming was lamely put together. My high school’s homecoming was better."
Despite the dissatisfaction with orientation, many students said they did not participate in homecoming activities for other reasons.
"I couldn’t really get hyped about homecoming week because there’s no football team." said Quinn. "I came from a school where homecoming was all about football, so I didn’t really participate."
But there are other reasons for this lack of participation. "A lot of people didn’t participate because the timing was off. They had activities during class," said Johnathan Boulighy, a freshman biology major from Oakland, Calif.
Others said the functions were not mature enough for college freshmen. "Nobody participated because the functions were for kids," said Candice Hairston, a freshman nursing major from Dallas, Texas.
Many students, like Stephanie Willis, agreed. "We are too grown to be jumping in a space jump. We’re athletes; we have a reputation to defend," said Willis, a freshman biology major from Dallas, Texas.
Some freshmen said orientation and homecoming have proven campus life uninteresting, which has only made their decision to transfer stronger.
"The campus life is not interesting and their biology department is lacking compared to other universities. I won’t be returning sophomore year," said Quinn.
While some freshmen explore the option of transferring, others offer insight on how to make next year’s orientation, homecoming and future activities better.
"Orientation was just a bunch of seminars that said nothing we didn’t already know. Although we’re freshmen, Dillard should recognize we are 18," said Bradford.
Boulighy suggests a marketing strategy to increase participation in campus activities. "They should have more stuff in front of Kearny instead of behind it," said Boulighy. "When you’re trying to market your product you put it in the front not the back."
They should better prepare for next year’s homecoming and get a football team, so we can see some guys said Hairston and Willis.
