Orientations are a great way to familiarize students with a university and help them join student life. Such events have long been considered instrumental in providing new students with the basic knowledge that can enhance the integration process. Moreover, there are certain psychological aspects to orientations, as they encourage team building and establishing new connections. Nevertheless, orientations may feature certain drawbacks, such as bullying performed by senior students. In the present essay, I argue that this issue should be addressed in a way that does not stop involving senior students in orientations.
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Firstly, senior students can provide new students with the basic knowledge they might need to start feeling at home. For example, senior students can share essential hints concerning the education process and various issues related to bureaucracy, organization, and sports. University is so much more than pure studies for most people. Therefore, new students should not be deprived of access to high-quality firsthand experience.
Secondly, some people claim that new students should be protected from bullying that can affect their attitude to studies. For example, seniors might convince first-year students that they will fail a course because they are not clever enough. Nevertheless, the most often reported form of bullying is criticism, belittling, or humiliation related to academic performance (Pörhölä et al., 2020). Thus, stopping seniors from participating in orientations will not eliminate the most common issue that triggers bullying, as no one knows new students’ academic performance.
Most importantly, most senior students tend to be enthusiastic about assisting new students. The relaxed atmosphere that encourages them to study and participate in various activities is usually created by peers, not professors and staff members. For example, relationships established between senior students and new students can prove helpful for future excellent performance. Seniors might become friends and advisors of freshmen who understand their feeling better than anyone else. Moreover, providing an opportunity for senior students to interact with new students in an informal style reduces the chances of bullying throughout the year.
To conclude, there are various ways to address the issue related to bullying during orientations. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the best way to overcome all such challenges is to allow only the most empathetic senior students to participate in orientations. Moreover, some staff members may be asked to assist in the organization of orientations. Thus, they will ensure that a pleasant atmosphere is maintained during the entire event.