The Campus Issues Theatre cast hams it up. Clockwise from the top: Mike Werner, Chris Haynes, Achilleas Kasapi, Katharina Loschberger, Ryan Melsom, Amanda Lisman, Meghan de Souza, Leah Powell and Kimmie Robbie. [Valerie Shore photo]

Welcome to UVic!
Through plays, tours, workshops, concerts and barbeques, the orientation program helps new students find their bearings

by Joy Poliquin

The first week of classes can be a struggle for students who are newcomers to UVic. There’s a new campus, new people, and often a new city to deal with. But what about the issues of homesickness, academic pressures, date rape, consensual sex, and drugs and alcohol?

Dr. Richard Stille, a sessional instructor with the theatre department and director of Campus Issues Theatre, says facing these topics through drama helps students sort things out.

The theatre performed two shows earlier this week as part of new student orientation. Stille worked over the summer with his cast of nine student volunteers. The result of their brainstorming and improvisation is a play that deals with serious subjects like safe sex and substance abuse, without pointing fingers.

“The idea of drugs and alcohol is big when you’re first away from home and everything is there in front of you,” says Stille. “And while your first year is an incredible adventure it also holds a certain amount of risk. Our play doesn’t lecture, but it reminds students to be careful in the choices they make.”

In the past, the play has borrowed from the Rocky Horror Picture Show and reality TV shows. This year, the cast performed a play within a play in the tradition of Waiting for Guffman, combining humour with serious subject matter. “We didn’t want to simply say ‘Drugs are bad’ or ‘Don’t do it!’” says Stille. “We wanted to make an impact.”

In addition to the play, the new student orientation program also features campus tours, workshops, concerts and coffeehouses, live entertainment and the president’s barbecue to help students get acquainted with each other and their new campus.

“We tailored different events and sessions to provide the best information and to focus on specific group needs,” says student affairs officer Sue Corner. While all students participated in the president’s day of welcome on Sept. 3, other events targeted students living in residence or off-campus. Also included were events aimed at transfer and graduate students.

“Our objective is to make new students feel comfortable and welcome, and we want to make sure they’re aware of the services available to them,” says Corner.

This year was the first time since 1995 that the program was offered free for participants, something that Corner believes makes it more accessible. More than 160 students and staff volunteered their time, and an estimated 2,000 students signed up to participate.

“Coming to university as a first-year student, no matter what your age, is like starting high school all over again,” says Cheryl Laing, the program’s technical coordinator. She experienced new student orientation first-hand in 1999, when she came to UVic from Ontario.

“It can be very overwhelming, but the program helps ease the transition. You meet people on your tours and you start to feel more comfortable. The most important thing for all of us working on the orientation program is to help students get connected to UVic.”