OA programs to span year

Through a newly expanded Outdoor Action program, students will now have more opportunities to engage in wilderness activities throughout the year. In addition to the traditional freshman orientation trip, OA will now add day trips throughout the school year and longer excursions over breaks.

"There has been a lot of interest in people doing more OA activities during the course of the year," said Rick Curtis, Director of the OA program.

This fall saw the largest freshman trip ever, with 643 freshman, or 52% of the freshman class, participating.

One of the enhancements to the OA program is the newly constructed climbing wall, located near the southeast column of the football stadium. Starting on October 3rd students will be able to purchase a day pass for $8 or a semester pass for $75.

"[The Rock Wall] offers a lot for both individual recreational use and for group use," Curtis said. He noted that the wall can be useful as a teambuilding facility for groups such as student clubs and athletic teams.

Denali Barron '09, who was an alternate staff member at the old climbing wall, noted the excitement buzzing in the climbing community on campus.

"I can't wait to see what this new wall brings in," she said. "From the glimpse I got this weekend, it's going to be spectacular."

The old rock wall was housed in the Armory, which was demolished to make way for the new chemistry building slated to open in fall 2010.

To oversee the rock wall in addition to other activities, Outdoor Action has hired a new Program Coordinator, Eric Cielinski, who will be in charge of expanding the offerings. According to Curtis, the new position had been under consideration for a while and was made possible by an increase in funding.

Included in the University's $1.75 billion capital campaign is an apportionment for Outdoor Action through the Campus Life Office. Curtis did not know specifically the fundraising goal for OA but was optimistic for fundraising in the coming years. "We're very excited that the University has identified OA as important to fund in the next major University campaign," said Curtis. "As that campaign proceeds, we'll be able to generate permanent funding," he added.

Additionally, OA leader alumni who make up the Friends of Outdoor Action group doubled their contribution from $25,000 last year to $50,000 this year.

In addition, for the first time ever, the University fully funded all pre-orientation programs for students on financial aid. This new policy allows those who might not have been able to pay the $460 fee to participate in the freshman trip.

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Despite full financial aid for students, though, OA leaders still need to pay $285 for leader training classes and $150 for the leader training trip. However, this may change within the next few years.

Last spring, 93 students were trained to lead freshman trips. This increase in leaders allowed Outdoor Action to offer more trips for more students.

There are roughly 250 OA Leaders on campus, and usually about two thirds of the 250 lead Freshman Orientation trips. Three or four leaders guide about a dozen freshmen on trails of varying difficulties, depending on their experience and athleticism.

"You can always buy more backpacks, but the number of trips we can run is dependent on the number of leaders," said Curtis, who added that Outdoor action would not have been able to take so many freshmen had there not been 93 new student leaders.

Curtis noted that this year will see a richer set of activities for the Princeton community which will set the standard for years to come. "This is a year of development for the program."

To kick off the year, Outdoor Action will host 'OA Day'—a day of rock climbing, canoeing and kayaking and an afternoon hike — on Oct. 13. Details for a trip during Fall Break have not yet been finalized.