Orientation can begin in the woods

After all of the cardboard boxes are thrown away and the Public Safety officers end their week-long hiatus from ticketing cars parked on campus, much of Freshman Week and the activities associated with it will be long forgotten. Though the past few days will be a blur to many, the nearly 600 freshmen and more than 100 upperclassmen who participated in the Outdoor Action frosh trip will likely remember their woodsy prelude to this class-free period forever. Over the past three years I have come to realize that the OA program has been one of the most significant parts of my and others' Princeton experiences.

I am not outdoorsy, or in the parlance of Princeton, I am not "hardcore OA." Some may even call me compulsive about dirt and cleanliness. I arrived on campus three years ago never having been camping, nervous about what would be in store for the next four years and knowing just two people in my class. Apprehensively, I left the modern conveniences of Princeton for five nights on the Susquehannock Trail in 'The Middle of Nowhere,' Pennsylvania, and I returned dirty and disgusting — and more comfortable and prepared than I ever thought I'd be to begin life as a college student.

So what makes OA such a special experience? Why can't we just rent hotel rooms in New York City and sight see for five days? One of the more important parts of the trip is that camping in the woods forces everyone to work together: You carry as much as you can, even if it means that you are carrying food that someone else will be eating; you divvy up campsite tasks and must have faith that the tarp your classmate set up will keep you dry at night, and most importantly, you help form a camaraderie on the trail that is rooted in contributions from every single person in the group. All group members learn to get over petty differences or disagreements — that annoying kid on the trip who doesn't shut up, that guy who isn't carrying as much as the others — because everyone knows that their 'survival' requires them to work as a team.

Although the trip into the woods only lasts five nights, its impact lasts four years, and perhaps even longer. The bonding around the campsite, the songs sung on the trail and the jumping and shaking of booties on Poe Field all create a welcoming atmosphere in which all participants can drop their guards, be themselves and really get to know ten or twelve other Princeton students. The embarrassing games and small group setting serve as the perfect remedy for the nervousness with which every freshman arrives on campus.

For freshmen who know no one upon arrival, much like my situation, it's a relief to return from the trip with solid relationships with nine of their classmates and a few upperclassmen. Frosh trips encourage people to cross the boundaries of their residential colleges and to seek out friends elsewhere on campus. It also encourages inter-class interactions, providing freshmen with a source for mentoring and advice and giving upperclassman the chance to meet some of the younger members of the University that they might not have otherwise met as easily.

As a Frosh Trip leader, I love to see the participants on my trips, but I also enjoy it when some random person comes up to me and asks if I was the "water-Nazi" on his OA bus. OA facilitates interaction between members of the freshman class before they become assimilated into the Princeton community and take on different activities and, unfortunately, different stereotypes. Ryan Salvatore is a Wilson School major from Stamford, CT. He can be reached at salvatre@princeton.edu.