They’re baaack! If you’re wondering what that steady stream of people on campus maneuvering with their maps and red NU lanyards is all about, it’s the annual orientation parade. Orientation is not just for the new freshman though, those wacky Thursday sessions are for transfer students, and don’t forget about the parents!

This year I find myself in a new role at orientation time. Usually I’m just an average student trying to figure out the new summer schedules for the Marino Center and the cafeteria. But for me, summer 2003 is spent as an Orientation Housing Assistant (OHA).

Being so close to the orientation process this year has given me a new respect for NU. Every orientation session I encounter different parents and students with all kinds of questions. Of course, orientees have plenty of chances for question and answer sessions during the orientation period, but come checkout time they are eager to ask questions to current students: Exactly how far IS Davenport Commons? Is it difficult to operate the laundry card system? Why is West Village so far from the cafeterias? Is the Marino Center open 24-hours a day? Why is there no stadium on campus? I hear Mission Hill is a bad area, do you feel safe?

Now, these questions are by no means difficult to answer, but they do make me reflect on my time spent here at NU. When I was a freshman, West Village was brand new. No one cared how close to the caf it was because, hey, you were living in a brand new apartment.

As far as Davenport goes it’s honestly not that far and the size of the apartments definitely make up for having to walk that extra 50 feet across the street to the parking garage.

Mission Hill? No sweat, if I can handle myself in a dark club and walking through the Fens at night on the way home from that club, Mission Hill is nice.

My point is that since the beginning of my time here at NU it’s obvious that I have taken things for granted, as the new students will. When I first entered this university there were a lot of new facilities and plenty of stories floating around about how West Village was once a parking lot and Wollaston’s is now “high class” compared to the run down store that use to be on Hemenway Street.

Our campus has been vastly improved in the last five years. Parents and students coming to NU and comparing our campus to the other schools they are looking at (UNH, NYU, Loyolla, BU, BC and the list goes on) see each improvement to the campus as just another building, or just another slab of grass.

Though it is obvious that our campus is far from complete — as demonstrated by the construction in West Village right now and the semester conversion rapidly approaching — I now take pride in the realization that it has changed so vastly for the better since the beginning of my higher learning career.

Often I encounter parents who are alumni of the university and who are rooting for their student to choose NU. These parents are the ones who just throw it all in my face, so to speak, because they are the ones who recall what the campus use to look like. Our generation of NU is indeed fortunate to have such a beautiful campus year-round.

The nostalgia that comes about from my orientation experience isn’t just about the physical NU campus. Freshman year was a time to, at the very least, experiment. Thinking back it was pretty crazy. I’m sure anyone could say the same.

For many students like myself it’s the first time living away from home, and even better, you’re living on your own. Now what does that mean? It means, no curfew, no bedtime, no meal schedule, no transportation restrictions, no “you’re grounded,” no family chores, no sibling rivalries and for most the best part of all, no authoritative figure. Sad to say, but yours truly is a prime example of a rebellious first child sent off to college.

Just like every other freshman coming to NU, I was excited about getting out of Hometown, USA and living on my own for the first time. Of course moving away from home isn’t always as pleasant as it seems. Being thrown into a new environment freshman year there were plenty of things to miss: friends, home cooked meals, the plain and simple use of a car, free laundry, someone to pay your bills and of course, the consistent flow of money from the Bank O’ Mom and Dad.

All in all I would say freshman year was a good learning experience. (Now I know where the good parties usually are.) I wish it were that simple. Freshman year was what I like to call an excellent transition period. I like to consider myself grown-up now, but as demonstrated there is a long way to go. I only hope that the experiences that I have had here can only improve. I will no longer take the opportunities that are offered to me for granted and I will most definitely enjoy the wonderful surroundings of the NU campus while I’m still here.

-Kate Daneau is a junior journalism major and a member of The News staff.