Follow us on Instagram
Try our daily mini crossword
Play our latest news quiz
Download our new app on iOS/Android!

Off-campus orientation experiences to take place online for Class of 2024

Community Action Trip to PBC
A member of the Class of 2023 walks across a bridge at the Princeton-Blairstown Center as part of their Community Action trip.
Zachary Shevin / The Daily Princetonian

Small group orientation experiences, known as Outdoor Action (OA), Community Action (CA), and Dialogue and Difference in Action (DDA), will occur in an online format for the Class of 2024, according to an email sent to student leaders obtained by The Daily Princetonian. 

President Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83 announced in an email on May 4 that the University will not be making a decision as to whether the fall semester will be held online or in-person until early July. But the University Orientation programming office wrote that, given the timing necessary to plan off-campus trips, they are unable to wait until July to make decisions regarding small-group experiences. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“While this decision was not made lightly and was given careful consideration, at this point we are uncertain that our off-campus partners and service providers would be able to support our programs in August,” the email stated. 

While the programs themselves were scheduled to take place in late August, planning between host sites and program directors is a “nearly year-round cycle,” according to the email. 

Key logistical decisions and work must be undertaken by student and professional staff in the early summer, the email explained, and “as it stands now, we don’t have enough clarity from the public health experts to proceed with this work in an appropriate fashion.”

The email went on to express appreciation for the time and effort student leaders have already dedicated to the planning of the programs, and stated that there are many details that have yet to be determined.

Members of the class of 2024 will be notified of the change in orientation programming via the Path to Princeton website, according to the email. Before the fall, the orientation program will be “looking for [student] leaders to engage incoming students via virtual small groups.” Details on those small groups are forthcoming.

The email also stressed that the decision to modify orientation programming “stands separate” from larger questions about the beginning of the academic term in the fall and encouraged students to continue reviewing information about the status of University life for the coming term as it becomes available.

ADVERTISEMENT

This story is breaking and will be updated as more information becomes available. 

Subscribe
Get the best of ‘the Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »