Heavy rains force recall of Outdoor Action trips

Heavy rains and dangerous weather conditions in the wake of Tropical Storm Lee last week forced the University to recall the freshman pre-orientation Outdoor Action trips. All 97 of the groups, which departed campus on Sunday, Sept. 4, were returned to the University by Thursday, Sept. 8.

The evacuations were not the first modifications to this year’s program, as the effects of Hurricane Irene caused many groups originally headed to New England to be rerouted to Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. These two last-minute changes to the OA program caused multiple sleepless nights at the OA Command Center, which worked around the clock to monitor all trips.

The OA trips, which aim to encourage freshman bonding through outdoor activities, included around 800 freshmen and 250 student leaders. As the weather worsened last Monday, organizers began redirecting groups in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

“Driving down a highway today, I could not see the road in front of me because of the rain,” Emily Tseng ’14, a member of OA support, said in an email last week. Tseng, who is also a staff writer, was stationed in Virginia.

Most students were picked up at meeting areas and bussed to hotels for the evening, while some groups remained at camp overnight until the weather was safe enough to allow them to move to pick-up locations. Participants on shortened trips completed the remainder of their programs on campus. Instead of the traditional six-day hiking trip, students participated in numerous service and icebreaker opportunities organized by OA, Campus Recreation, the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students and the Pace Center. Activities included a scavenger hunt and comedy performances.

OA Program Director Rick Curtis ’79 said that student safety was the highest priority, leading to the necessity of the modifications.

“We spend months preparing for this program each year, but Mother Nature can easily turn all those plans upside down,” Curtis said. “Thanks to the work of many student volunteers, OA leaders and a number of University offices, we have been able to coordinate the relocation successfully and ensure the safety of the students. We hope that they will continue to make new friends as they complete the program on campus.”

Support team member Elektra Alivisatos ’14, who was also stationed in Virginia, said that, despite the less than ideal situation, a sense of camaraderie was still formed among the groups she encountered. “Even though this is not the best situation, there’s still a positive air to it,” she said.

Alivisatos added that communication between the OA command center and the various groups was excellent. “They were very on top of things and, given the circumstances, did a good job of telling us where we needed to be,” she said.

Other campus activities were adjusted to accommodate the freshmen’s early return. According to Associate Dean of the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students Cole Crittenden GS ’05, residential college adviser training proceeded as planned, albeit with a few modificiations, including the relocation of an RCA training session originally scheduled to be held in McCosh Health Center. The health center reopened early due to the unexpected large number of students on campus after the OA participants returned, and Whitman Dining Hall began serving meals to all students on campus. It was the only dining hall then in operation.

While on campus, the freshmen were mainly under the guidance of their OA trip leaders while RCAs completed their training.

“RCAs [were] told to begin reaching out to and interacting with their advisees if they see them at night in the [residential] colleges, and to be ready to respond if any of their advisees have an urgent situation that arises,” Crittenden wrote in an email.

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According to OA Leader Cynthia Wang ’14, the freshmen still spent the majority of their time with their OA group despite living in their own dorms and were able to get a head start on settling in at the University. “Being on campus together participating in events all over campus helped everyone become familiarized with the various resources [here],” she said.

“Bonding through adversity” was how OA participant Marcos Cisneros ’15 summarized his experience. Despite the fact that he was not in the woods, he still enjoyed spending time with his peers, he said.

“For better or for worse, there was no way I could have gotten any closer to my OA group,” he said.