Social News
Written by: Tang Jiaqi
2020-09-01 07:00
Last update date: 2020-09-01 07:00
"Dem beat" may be most Hong Kong people's impression of college students' orientation camps (O Camp). Every time near the end of the summer vacation, freshmen from various colleges and universities wearing bright colors "Camp Tee" appear on the streets, shuttled in the busy city and played games. .
This situation and situation have disappeared in the epidemic.
In response to the epidemic, some schools announced that the new school year will be taught online. The Orientation Camp (O Camp), which is popular with many college students, will also be canceled. Many college freshmen have lost the "baptism" of O Camp, and replaced it with online Orientation, this year's freshmen will start their college life in a brand new form.
The elder brothers and sisters in charge of organizing O Camp regret on the one hand, and on the other hand, they have to come up with countermeasures to try to make the freshmen adapt to a different "campus life" from the past.
Freshmen Lost Orientation Camp to Meet Classmates Online
The day of the visit was the day when Jack and Haven returned to school to collect their student IDs and select courses online. They were freshmen of the Management Department of City University of Hong Kong and only visited City University for the third time.
Before taking the diploma exam, they all experienced online classes due to the pneumonia epidemic. Haven had long expected that they would not have the opportunity to participate in activities such as orientation camps, but they were still worried that it would be difficult to meet new friends.
Jack felt it was a pity, because the freshmen had lost the high school graduation dinner and graduation ceremony and other activities, and could not even participate in the college orientation camp entering the new stage of learning. He lost a lot of precious experiences and memories, and thought he was of a similar age. People cannot resonate.
Haven (pictured right) has long anticipated that he will not have the opportunity to participate in activities such as the orientation camp, and is most worried about not being able to meet new friends.
(Photo by Lin Songhua)
As the school’s orientation activities have greatly reduced in response to the epidemic, the two boys learned that they had been admitted to CityU. They switched to online platforms such as Instagram and LianDang to obtain university information. Finally, they found many freshmen in the same subject, so they opened a Telegram group. Group, exchange information, and finally register to participate in the O Day of the subject association.
The two freshmen used various online platforms to obtain university information, and finally opened a Telegram group with about 50 students of the same discipline to exchange information.
(Photo by Lin Songhua)
Orientation activities change posture and limited understanding of campus
It’s almost every freshman’s worry about not getting to know the classmates who go to class and doing group work together. Having experienced an unprecedented online orientation day, Haven’s comment is “It’s better than not...I have met a few friends.” He In large and small groups, exchange timetables with classmates who have never met before. If the meeting is in the same class, it is agreed to become a "project-mate", and then group work will be carried out together.
He described the online orientation day as very informative. At first, "group dad" and "group mom" shared subject selection, registered dormitory and campus information through briefings, and then grouped to play mini games and chat with each other.
Can’t interact face-to-face, Haven thinks it’s a little awkward to interact in front of the camera, and feel that such online activities may not be as fun as physical orientation camps and orientation days.
Jack, who participated in the same online orientation day, agreed and felt like attending a lecture: "But if you don't listen to the information, you will panic." Asked how much they thought he knew about CityU, Jack didn't dare to say anything. Because the number of visits to the campus in person is very small, saying that it is only 10 to 20%. The reporter asked him to share a little information that he thought outsiders did not know. He thought for a while and said: "You can go to the middle door, if you don’t get GPA (credits) I will never pass 3!" The photographer next to him laughed and said, "It seems that I don’t even read City!"
The preparations for the orientation camp have been cancelled due to the epidemic for nearly half a year
The orientation camp was cancelled. The freshmen were disappointed because they lost their brand-new activity experience, and because of various restrictions, they lacked knowledge of their campus, and the orientation camp operators were also uncomfortable.
Li Zhenrui (Jason), Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Management Discipline Association of the City University of Hong Kong, has been preparing for the orientation camp with other members since early January, including booking venues, designing activities and customizing clothing.
As of May, the epidemic eased a bit. Jason still had the idea of "getting an O Camp with a mask on." However, the epidemic intensified in July. In order to reduce the risk of infection, he finally decided to cancel the event and open a new website. On Orientation Day, other difficulties were encountered.
Jason and other members have been preparing for the orientation camp since January, and customized clothing can only be sold separately to new students.
(Photo by Lin Songhua)
In the past, CityU freshmen would definitely go to the "Muren Lane" on the registration day to learn about the schools and to register for different orientation camps in person. Various schools and colleges also accept new students at this time and call on them to join the school, but this year the arrangement is cancelled At first, Jason had no way of knowing how to contact the freshmen of the Department of Management. Later, by coincidence, he discovered that the freshmen formed a Telegram group spontaneously. He had to send emails from the department to help them, and finally contacted about 80% of the freshmen to participate in their online orientation day. .
It is even more difficult for new students to deepen their understanding through online channels. Jason mentioned that on the online orientation day, many new students were unwilling to turn on the camera or speak for different reasons. In addition, the problem of network delays caused online activities. It is far from the atmosphere of physical activities, and there is less communication between students.
O Camp no longer "weighs and feeds" and hopes to help freshmen to establish relationships early
The general public is exposed to news about the orientation camp, which is generally negative, but college students hold this event year after year because they hope that this kind of experience and memories can be passed on.
Jason recalled the scene when he went to "Wooden Alley" as a freshman last year: "Good market, everyone will call you "Play this O Camp," and will compete." He described the scene as lively as a New Year's Eve.
When you go to the orientation camp, you can play some unplayed games, "water games" and campfire parties, etc., and you will meet new friends and chat together until late at night.
A year later, these memories are still in Jason's mind. He sighs that he cannot bring these memories to the new students this year, which is quite regrettable.
Jason hopes that freshmen can use the online orientation day to establish relationships with classmates in advance to reduce the pressure of adapting to campus life at the beginning of the next semester.
(Photo by Lin Songhua)
Jason bluntly said that the past orientation camps had no specific goals. They mainly wanted new students to have fun and have fun in three unforgettable days and two nights. He often gave people the feeling of "weighing", but this year he only held an online orientation day One goal is to let the freshmen know each other.
"I have experienced the life of online classes for half a year. I can tell you clearly that I don't fully recognize the group members or additional friends." Jason hopes that new students can use the Orientation Day group to meet friends in advance, build relationships, and reduce the next semester. Adapt to the pressure of campus life at the beginning of school.
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