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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mass gatherings nationwide were cancelled over health and safety concerns; this included the Ateneo de Manila University’s freshman Orientation Seminar (OrSem). Since the annual event helps ease the freshies’ transition into their new environment, the OrSem Organizing Committee (OrCom) decided to continue its pursuit of providing the freshmen with a memorable OrSem experience.
Although a number of changes have been made this year to adapt to an online setting, the OrCom has worked to ensure that incoming freshmen will receive the same warm and energetic welcome that OrSem is known for.
Changes within committees
To guarantee everyone’s safety, the OrCom planned the entire event without meeting up physically—serving as a glimpse into what facilitating this year’s online OrSem would be like.
Considering the well-being of the freshmen, the OrCom ultimately decided to spread out online OrSem over seven short days as opposed to two full days. “We know that sitting in front of a screen the whole day is actually more tiring than being at the event physically,” Entertainment Head Jan Ong (4 BS ME) shares.
Another important aspect of OrSem is supplying the freshmen with relevant and engaging content. For example, asynchronous and synchronous materials were provided for those who face connectivity issues in order to promote a more inclusive atmosphere. Content uploaded on the OrSem website can be viewed by freshmen even after the event.
To ensure that the online shift is executed efficiently, the various committees underwent adjustments in their functions, structure, and output.
For instance, the Documentations and Publications (DNP) Committee dissolved the Photos subcommittee since it can no longer fulfill its mandate in an online setting. The DNP also found the need to reevaluate the tasks of the remaining subcommittees—Design, Videos, and Journals, namely—to better fit the current OrSem’s needs. “I think the biggest change is that the platform of OrSem [2020] itself will be a website, and this website will be designed by DNP,” shares committee head Dana Daffon (4 BFA ID).
Meanwhile, the Entertainment Committee’s main challenge was producing a variety of content that would keep the freshies involved and interested. “We didn’t take any volunteers as compared to previous years, because an important part of online work is coordinating with each other and we wanted to be efficient with our resources,” Ong adds.
A size cut was also a move for the Logistics Committee, which—in previous years— had the largest volunteer pool in OrSem. Both Logistics Head Briana Aguas (4 AB IS) and Security and Mobilizations (SecMob) Core member Magnus Untal (5 BS CS-DGDD) share that they were able to reimagine the committee’s role to adapt to an online setting. Typically, a SecMob volunteer is expected to work behind the scenes and ensure a block’s physical safety. For OrSem Tuloy, however, SecMobs are tasked to schedule synchronous online sessions and retain necessary contingencies for all possible situations—such as if a Talks and Tours (TNT) volunteer disconnects from the call, or if a fire breaks out in a freshie’s home.
In addition, the Logistics Committee prepared an online campus tour to give the students an accurate feel of what to expect upon returning to campus; the TNT volunteers will conduct this during their sessions. They have also created a primer that includes tips and tricks that may help the freshies navigate around campus.
Another one of the bigger changes made with this year’s OrSem comes from within the TNT Committee. According to committee Head Aleanna Cordova (4 AB IS), translating the signature TNT energy into the online platform is a difficult task. Not only will it be physically draining for the volunteers, it may also be overwhelming for them to balance several commitments at the same time.
However, Cordova also sees this move as an opportunity to place the TNT Committee’s focus on the substance and content of their spiels rather than their liveliness. After all, the committee aims to make the freshies feel welcomed in Ateneo through group dynamics and synthesis sessions geared towards improving block camaraderie and recognizing individual apprehensions. With the help of TNT volunteers, freshmen can expect to develop new life-lasting friendships, whether the bond comes from their fellow blockmates or the upperclassmen who were involved in the event.
“As TNTs, we not only want to make the freshies feel welcomed in the Ateneo, but we want them to have people to come to at any time if they need,” Cordova asserts. “It’s very important on our part to help them in getting to know the Ateneo that they’re getting into, whether it be the history or college culture that they’ll encounter throughout their stay in the University.”
OrSem, after all
With almost a thousand volunteers every year, the OrSem experience speaks volumes on how the event touches the lives of so many people. OrSem’s tagline, “No other University does it like we do,” is often said in reference to all those who selflessly prepare for the event. The question now, however—especially for all those who volunteer—is whether OrSem is still worth coming back to even if it is held online.
Much of the OrCom would argue that OrSem is worth it. Daffon says that she loves volunteering for OrSem because it shows how the Ateneo community can come together as one. “Each participant is able to hone their talents, passions, and skills in a way that will bring joy to other people,” she says. “It’s also where you can see the biggest collaboration amongst Ateneans, wherein each and every volunteer–and their task–is valued.”
For Untal, he credits his OrSem experience as a freshie as the motivating factor that brought him back to the event. “I didn’t really understand how the volunteers back then could be so full of love and energy, but I wanted to be able to pay it forward to the future batches of freshmen,” he says.
Cordova echoes Untal’s thoughts, stating that she has come back to OrSem for the past three years because she knows that her actions can affect those around her.“With all our preparations and actions exerted into this, there will always be an end receiver to their acts and people will really appreciate what we do,” she shares.
Even with all the adjustments and change in scenery for this year’s program, OrSem 2020 lives up to its theme: Tuloy, or to continue. As OrCom perseveres to give the freshmen batch the best possible welcome regardless of the setting, OrSem, at its core, persists as an act of compassion and a labor of love–always, and in all ways.
