Student Orientation and UL Athletics

[Kal]

Why isn't there a choice for me on the poll? My choice would be: What Orientaion? Wait a second, What is orientation?

[billabong7329]

Well, I went to the early orientation back in March, and I can't say I remember them telling us ANYTHING about sports. I think they might have taught us the fight song, or some kind of cheer, but that was about it, and they didn't really try to get us to learn it, it was more of them just saying it once and that was about it.

Also, I went on the walking tour and we didn't go anywhere near the sports facility. We basically went around the quad and maybe a little beyond and that was about it. They also had separate tours for the boys/girls dorms and even that wasn't very much as the people giving the tours weren't even part of said dorm.

But yeah, back to the original question, there wasn't much of a push for sports at all. I don't even remember whether or not they told us that our cajun card gets us into games free, but I assume they did.

Maybe the summer orientations are different since they have more people and probably more time to plan all the activities, but the one I went to in March wasn't all that much. It was exciting to be on campus for the first time though, and all the SOS members were really nice.

[CajunNation]

Fall of '89 Fr. orientation.


In the student union ballroom, a video was presented featuring Cajun sports, especially football. Attending sporting events was strongly encouraged.

It was a different mindset back then that we are only recently regaining.

[gridiron]

Students should be taken down the tunnel.

[BILLB]

I don't remember much of my orinetation, especially since it was in 1985, but I do remember my fraternity really pushing our attencance at football games. I see some fraternity members at games now, but not the sea of fraternity shirts like I used to. I don't know if it is because they are wearing red shirts now or if fraternity participation at football games has really declined.

[Young Guns]

I am tired of the passive promotion of athletics at orientation! Lets do it aggressively! Make us paint our faces RED and shout the fight song till we get it perfect! Make us sleep in the locker room till we promise to support every home game. When we wake up you feed us a bowl of peppers and give us a paint brush and a bucket of red paint and have us paint Martin Hall. Now you can tell me how nice the book store is.

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS?

[srevere51]

_ I am tired of the passive promotion of athletics at orientation! Lets do it aggressively! Make us paint our faces RED and shout the fight song till we get it perfect! Make us sleep in the locker room till we promise to support every home game. When we wake up you feed us a bowl of peppers and give us a paint brush and a bucket of red paint and have us paint Martin Hall. Now you can tell me how nice the book store is.

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS? _

Get in touch of your SG President I assume, Throw the Ideas out to the Student Government, Demand the support of YOUR athletic programs......

[Cajunbander]

I don't remember much about athletics. I went to the honors student orientation, so I guess they figured that pushing sports on us would be a worthless cause lol.

Here's my idea. Like gridiron said, take them down the tunnel. Not only have a walking tour of the main campus. Take them on a tour of our sports facilities too. Bring them to the Cajundome and the Tigue. Show them the track and field/ soccer complex and Bourgeois Hall. At The Swamp, introduce them to the coaches. (I'm sure we could pry Bustle away from ONE McDonalds commercial) Maybe even have some of the players there. Teach them the words to the fight song AND the Alma Mater! (Of course, we'd have to get Brian Taylor have the PoA play the Alma Mater after games.) Get a bus schedule going to the Swamp from not just campus, but the other major student apartment complexes (or is it complxi?), like University House (Although it would kinda be pointless going right across the street.) and Campus Edge! Get more students transportation to the games than just students on campus. Get some brothers and sisters from the fraternities and sororities out there to get the new kids involved in just school.

Of course academics is the most important thing of a university, but the extra-curricular things are hella important too. I know plenty of people that went to LSU A&M because of their football team, only to transfer back to UL because it turned out they didn't like it. UL's academic experience is great. We have small classes, a very friendly and hospitable student body, and a close knit community. If we can find something to get our other areas up to snuff, we'd be an even more awesome university.


Just my two cents.

[RaginCajunPie]

I went to orientation back in 1999...of course it was the grad school orientation...but I was a HUGE athletic fan of my undergrad, and a huge fan of sports in general. I remember thinking back then how strange it was that there was no mention of sports at orientation. I also remember trying to find some fellow students to go to the games with....and no one was interested. So, I basically spent 2 years at school at UL...being a HUGE sports fan...and never going to a game because no one seemed interested and there was no information or push to go to one. Granted, I was with the "academics" in grad school...but that's 1,300 or so people we're missing!