Many Graduating Seniors Could Benefit From Orientation to Life

Over the last month, I have looked around my graduating class and seen some of the brightest individuals of my generation scared out of their minds.

Four weeks from today, we Columbia College students will walk across the stage, receive our diplomas, and soon thereafter be kicked out into an unknown world. Many of us don’t know what we’ll be doing in 31 days. Even those of us with jobs don’t know where or with whom we’ll be living. Many in our class aren’t sleeping and are falling behind on coursework, and I’d bet my first professional paycheck that the number of my classmates going to Counseling and Psychological Services has doubled in the last four months.

We’re “strangers in a strange land,” as we said at last night’s seder. We don’t know what we’re doing, where we’re going, or how to get there. And while we may be in the real world next month, we’re not there just yet. Right now, we’re still under the protection of Columbia University, and we need some help. Therefore, I am proposing the establishment of the Outgoing Student Orientation Program.

Without meaning to be presumptuous, here’s how I envision the program. OSOP, to be held between the end of finals and Class Day, would be a week of educational and social events designed to do what NSOP does—ease the transition between the world we know and the one we are about to encounter. Just like during NSOP, OSOP would feature office hours with counselors from both CPS and the Center for Career Education. Ideally, Columbia might bring in alumni speakers to offer guidance to graduating seniors.

To my eye, the biggest problem the senior class is currently facing is housing. To that end, Columbia could make available a new Web site providing a way for students to find potential roommates by matching those seeking apartments in the same price ranges and neighborhoods. Additionally, Columbia could bring housing brokers—from New York and other major cities where students are going—to help students find an apartment for after graduation.

Also, Columbia could offer a job fair and last-minute job posting Web site for those still looking for employment. At the job fair would be alumni, Columbia human resources reps, and recruiters from temp agencies for those who need transient work until they find a career.

But the centerpiece of OSOP would be a series of lectures open to any senior who wants to take part. Topics would include:

* How to manage a budget: This session would discuss what percent of a paycheck one should plan to pay on housing, transportation, food, insurance, communications, entertainment, and savings.

* The small things add up: Did you know that a Starbucks a day will cost $11,000 more per decade than the office joe? A list of cost-cutting measures that will save you big in the long run.

* Long-term living: It’s never too early to start thinking about things like college tuition for children, buying your first house, and retirement expenses. Also, how the hell do you pay off college loans or invest your money to get a better rate of return than what your checking account provides?

* A guide to your credit rating: Because apparently these things are important if you ever want to buy a house or car.

* Taxes: How much of your paycheck do you actually get? What the heck is FICA? Do you really need to manage your receipts, and how do you do it?

* Common business problems for new hires: Everything from figuring out what to wear on day one and how to act at a business dinner to negotiating for more vacation days and a bigger paycheck.

* Moving to a new neighborhood: How do you find new friends? How do you find a local doctor? For those in New York, this could be done as a forum, with representatives from different clubs, leagues, and businesses throughout the city attending.

* Driving: Did you know that some cities don’t have a comprehensive subway system? Don’t worry—Columbia will team up with Big Apple Driving School to teach you how to get through the DMV, while dealers walk you through how to purchase or lease your first set of wheels.

* Paperwork you need to fill out: Everything from updating one’s mailing address to registering as a resident in a new state.

* Also important considering Columbia’s notorious hook-up culture: Dating and relationships beyond the dorm.

These sessions may seem fundamental or even rudimentary, and there are clearly many in the class who have been dealing with these concerns for several years. But for many, many others, this would be an invaluable help. And while I understand that this proposal would be a massive undertaking, tying at least some of these events into the traditional senior week festivities would serve as a nice capstone to a career at Columbia and as a calming force to a class in turmoil.

josh.hirschland@columbiaspectator.com