New Stop On MainStreet Opens for Orientation

Thousands of incoming University of Cincinnati students will be the very first students to get a look at the latest stop on MainStreet. That’s because some of the new student orientation sessions are being held in the Great Hall, the section of the expanded south wing of Tangeman University Center that just opened. The new Great Hall is located on the second level of the south wing, above the UC Bookstore.

Bob Marton, project manager for UC’s MainStreet corridor that blends student learning with student life, says the new Great Hall can hold 975 people and measures 9,700 square feet with an additional 3,600 square foot terrace that overlooks McMicken Commons. The Great Hall provides a clear view of Nippert Stadium, and has a digital projection room containing a 15-foot-by 26-foot video screen with the capacity for digital audio and integrated lighting.

MainStreet is anchored by University Pavilion,  and the Jefferson Residence Hall Complex, two new buildings that just opened during fall quarter last year..

In the Great Hall, students are attending sessions that explore UC’s Just Community Initiative to build a just and caring community on campus. During one of the programs, students divide into small groups with their individual Student Orientation Leaders to design their very own banner depicting what Just Community means to them. The three-foot by four-foot canvases will be tied together into one banner that will be raised at the end of their Convocation ceremony Sept. 21.

As part of their training, the Student Orientation Leaders designed their own Just Community banners to prepare for their roles as SOLs. There are 28 Student Orientation Leaders, or SOLs, who are sharing their own experiences as a student at UC, plus helping the new students to get acquainted with campus. These guides are wearing UC red-and-black shirts and khaki pants. Once orientation wraps up, the SOLs will be judging the Just Community banners for their artistic design, creativity and UC spirit. They will also be the first people to greet the new students in the fall during Welcome Week Sept. 21-28.

“Be creative now. Throw out some ideas. Is anyone artistic?” said SOL Mark Hoge, as the group got to work on their flag with magic markers. Each of the small orientation groups has given themselves an individual name. Hoge’s group named themselves “Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch,” in tribute to their student leader. Hoge, a second-year information systems major, says the most common questions students are asking him so far is about life in the residence halls and adjusting to roommates. He can share that advice first hand. He says he lived in Daniels Hall last year with three other roommates he didn’t meet until he started at UC.

Hoge came to UC from a small town, New Knoxville, Ohio.  “My older brother attended UC and I would come and visit him. I just fell in love with the place, and I really want to live in Cincinnati once I graduate."

New student Megan Schweller of Wilmington, Ohio, says she chose UC because of the nursing program. “It’s a good school, and it’s not too close, but also not too far away from home.” She added that these interactive sessions are “making Orientation fun.”

In celebration of orientation and the UC Just Community, University Libraries is presenting displays of some of the Just Community flags that were made during orientation last year. Look for those displays at Langsam Library and Blegen Library.

UC’s summer orientation program runs through July 31.