Cal Poly Week of Welcome

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WOW, or “Week of Welcome,” at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo "is one of the largest volunteer orientation programs in the country. Each year, approximately five to six hundred trained student leaders welcome freshmen and transfer students to the campus and San Luis Obispo community. This is a drug- and alcohol-free program that focuses on academics, community awareness, social issues, on- and off-campus resources, and forming connections with other students."

Background
"Week of Welcome", or WOW, is an organization that has evolved over the years at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in order to welcome the incoming freshmen class, as well as transfer students, to life on the Cal Poly campus and the greater community. The program works as such: new students who have registered for the orientation program in the summer before entering Cal Poly are assigned to a WOW group of around 20 new students and led by two WOW Leaders. These WOW leaders have been at Cal Poly for one year or more and have completed what the WOW Organization calls “Spring Training,” where they learn the ins and outs of what it means to be a WOW Leader. Once enrolled in “Spring Training,” the students are referred to as LITs, or Leaders in Training and commit themselves to 10 LIT meetings every Tuesday night of Spring Quarter at 7pm, as well as some outside workshops. A LIT graduates to a certified Orientation Leader at the discretion of their facilitators, the people who train the Orientation Leaders. Orientation leaders plan their week of activities in the summer before Fall Quarter. They then receive their list of "Wowies" (new student WOW participants) on the morning of the first day of orientation. WOW Week takes place the week before Fall classes begin.

History
“Week of Welcome” was introduced in 1957 at California Polytechnic State University and was originally called “Welcome Week.” The original format was designed to provide on-campus leadership training to students from campus clubs, student government, and other campus groups. The program expanded with the population of the school, and new students were then organized into clubs of around 30 students and 4 advisors, each with a unique club name and personality.

In the beginning years of the program, the first half of “Welcome Week” was held in the city of San Luis Obispo, learning about the campus and the city itself. The second half was a 2-day retreat called “Welcome Round-Up Camp,” held at Camp Pinecrest and Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria, Ca. At the camp, students participated in a variety of activities in order to get acquainted with other new students in the program.

The current WOW format began in the 1960s. Program staples such as a set training time on Tuesdays at 7pm, a minimum G.P.A. requirement in order to be a WOW Leader, “Rooster Caps” were made mandatory for Leaders and participants and became tradition, and in 1961, two Leaders were assigned to each group of new students with excess leaders assigned to be the first members of Event Staff.

WOW Training
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Wow Board
Wow board is responsible for overseeing the operation of wow. They have all been on Wow Team and they are responsible for developing the leadership training activities for the Wow Team and LITs (leaders in training).

Wow Team
WOW Team spends six months preparing for Spring Training and is responsible for training new LITs to become OLs (orientation leaders). They oversee which LITs will graduate spring training and become OLs in the fall, and they themselves have all been OLs.

Orientation Leaders

During spring training each volunteer is called a LIT or leader in Training. LITs are student volunteers who participate in WOW’s 10 week spring training program. To graduate the spring training program and become an Orientation leader LITs are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA, attend spring training meetings, attend a workshop, Day in the Sun, a “freeday,” and be recommended by the WOW Team member who has been training them.
Once an LIT has graduated from Spring Training they and their co-leader are responsible for planning the week for their group. Over the summer the OLs receive a schedule of mandatory events including Awareness presentations, WOW-o-rama, Preface Program, SLO bound, and College Connections. OLs are strongly encouraged to plan each day around these mandatory events from 8 in the morning and to have all “wowies” returned home by 11 o’clock. Local businesses often have special prices for WOW groups, and common WOW week activities include hiking, kayaking, surfing, wall climbing, etc.
OLs are required to move back to school the weekend before WOW starts and asked to volunteer some of their time to help with FamOW (family orientation weekend). They help check in the students who have registered for WOW, help freshmen move into dorms, answer questions for new students and their families, etc.
During the week OLs are responsible for attending morning meetings at 7am to go over the mandatory events, make sure their schedules for the week are complete and appropriate, clarify any scheduling conflicts, ask any questions, and hear any announcements from the WOW Board. The goal of each wow group is to aquaint the new students to the Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo communities, local businesses, and their colleges, allow them to prepare for classes, make them aware of issues they will most likely encounter at our university, create a safe environment in which new students can make new friends and create lasting relationships, and to get a sense of college life without the stress of classes.

Event Staff
Event staffers (or E-Staff) are LITs who complete spring training but who have opted to not lead a specific group but to help WOW in other ways. E-staff is responsible for most of the behind the scenes work that happens throughout the week, mainly getting everyone where they are supposed to go, when they are supposed to get there, and getting groups in and out of their presentations in a timely manner. They are largely responsible for checking students in during FamOW, manning the wow booth, setting up booths for awareness faire and block party, they organize the mass bussing of wowies to and from SLO bound and organize countless other events throughout the week.

Types of WOW Groups
Non-traditional
Non-traditional student orientation is a one-day event held for new students ages 25 and older. Non-traditional student orientation takes place on a Saturday a week before Fall Quarter classes begin. These students are given the opportunity to meet other students of their type and also get to know campus representatives from various departments. Events such as a panel discussion, a resource faire, and campus tours are held on this day.

First Year Connection
First Year Connection, also known as FYC, is made up of first year students who live together in the same residence hall, either Yosemite or Sierra Madre. This type of group is assembled to facilitate easy friendships with students who live together. Orientation Leaders who chose to work with this type of group also work with the students’ Resident Advisor to make sure the students make a effortless switch into college life.

Transfer Groups
Transfer groups consist of students who are new to Cal Poly, but have attended college elsewhere. These groups tend to need less help becoming comfortable with the transition to becoming a Cal Poly student because they most likely have already moved away from home and are comfortable meeting new people. Typically (but not always), these groups are led by former transfer students, as well.

No Preference Groups

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No preference groups are made up of both first year students and transfer students, living on and off campus, who are randomly assigned a WOW group at the beginning of orientation.

WOW Schedule of Events

Famow: Family Orientation Weekend
Saturday
*New students check into their respective residence halls, settle in their belongings, and meet the people with whom they will be living for the next year. On this day, new students can also pick up their reserved text books and get their PolyCard (Student ID).
*WOW New Student Check-in: On Mott Lawn, a booth is set up where new students and their families can pick up Parent Packets, Family Barbecue tickets, and Kid's Passports. This is also when students get their WOW wristband, group number, and various information regarding meeting times and where to be, along with their New Student packets.
*Resource Faire: The resource faire is an opportunity to learn about different service areas on campus. Representatives from each organization are available to answer questions and provide information. Some of the service areas include the University Police Department, Campus Dining, and Health and Counseling Services.

Sunday
*Kid’s Passport: Kid's passport is geared towards the younger siblings of incoming students (ages seven and above) to enjoy themselves while their older brothers or sisters settle into their new living space. Some of the activities included are crafts, billiards, bowling, and climbing the rock wall. Kid's Passport holders also get a free t-shirt, pizza, and ice cream.
*Family Barbecue: The family barbecue is the main highlight of Sunday, and is held on Cal Poly Recreation Center Field. Students, their family, and their guests can purchase tickets to eat barbecue prepared by Campus Dining.

Weekdays

Monday

*WOW Rally: The WOW Rally is a pep rally designed to get the new "WOWies" excited about being a college student, meeting new people, and the week ahead. Speakers include Cal Poly's Athletic and Spirit organizations, hundreds of Orientation Leaders, the WOW Board, and a special guest speaker. After the rally, the students meet their assigned Orientation Leaders as well as the other 15-20 members of their WOW group.
*Resource Tours: Resource tours are similar to the Resource Faire held on Saturday, but instead of booths, WOW groups tour the campus and gain information on the many resources available to Cal Poly students. (Tours continue throughout the week.)
*WOW-A-Rama: On Monday night, all the WOW groups come together for two hours on the sports complex to play several ice-breaker games and meet people in different WOW groups.

Tuesday
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*Awareness Presentation: "Tuesday begins the Awareness programming that will continue throughout the week. All presentations have been created by Cal Poly students, and were designed to introduce new students to issues associated college life as well as better equip them to be successful at Cal Poly. Tuesday's presentation is entitled "Campus, Community, College Life & Respect," and focuses on diversity, academics and community awareness. Speakers include current Cal Poly students, staff, and faculty, the San Luis Obispo Police, and the Mayor.
*SLO-Bound: Students take the bus downtown to Mitchell Park, where they eat a provided bag lunch and get a group photo taken. Then WOW groups walk around Mission Plaza and the rest of downtown to learn about San Luis Obispo shops, restaurants, landmarks, and history.
*Comedian: The comedian(s) is usually a featured comedian on Comedy Central that Cal Poly books for "really affordable rate."
*Smile & Nod: Smile and Nod is Cal Poly's comedic improv group that has several performances throughout the week.
*Theatre Style Movie: For an additional $2, (for Orientation Leaders this is free) WOWies can watch a featured movie that is shown "theatre-style" in Spanos Theatre.

Wednesday
*PREFACE: PREFACE is Cal Poly's shared reading program. Over the summer, students and various members of the surrounding San Luis Obispo County are asked to read a designated book to talk about during WOW. On Wednesday morning, students bring their books, thoughts and questions to a meeting with their WOW group and another member of the community.
**PREFACE Program Goals:
# Project high Cal Poly academic expectations
# Convey that reading is integral to intellectual inquiry
# Provide a common intellectual experience
# Build community on and off campus
More information about PREFACE can be found at http://preface.calpoly.edu/
*College Connections: The WOWies are taken to the meeting place of their respective colleges, where "new students get the chance to meet other students in the same major, academic advisors, and future professors."
*Slam Poetry: Slam Poetry is a poetry reading "showcasing three nationally recognized spoken word artists,"and students can also read their own poems if they choose. Cost is $2 extra for WOWies, but free for Orientation Leaders.

Thursday
*Awareness Presentation: Thursday's awareness presentation "will provide awareness regarding healthy living, having a healthy body image, drug and alcohol use, the choice of whether or not to have sex, safe sex, personal safety, sexual assault and drunk driving."
*Awareness Faire: The awareness fair is a series of booths set up to help students find organizations on and outside of campus that can guide them on many social topics they may face throughout their college career
*Movie Under the Stars: The movie under the stars features the same movie as the "theatre-style" movie on Tuesday, but instead of being indoors, students can bring sleeping bags, pillows and blankets to watch the movie on a large screen set up on the sports complex.

Friday

*Awareness Presentation: Friday's presentation is the final presentation of the week, where students learn about coping with stress. The presentation helps students find their causes of stress and then gives them resources for help in overcoming it.
*WOW Day of Service: WOW groups perform different community service tasks throughout the day, forming one of the largest community service events in SLO. "WOW Day of service is organized by the Student Community Services (SCS) office which offers students opportunities to volunteer in the surrounding San Luis Obispo area."
*WOW Block Party: The block party is designed for the purpose of giving new students a chance to view over 100 clubs and other campus organizations in a limited amount of time. Booths line the streets and WOW groups take a tour to sample each of the Campus Dining locations. Live music and club performances are also at this time.
*WOW Exclusive Concert: To end the Week of Welcome at Cal Poly, Associated Students, Inc. offers students a free, exclusive concert that is held in the Rec Center. This concert usually features a well known group or artist.

Alternative WOW Groups
O.U.R.
“O.U.R.”, Orientation for United Raza, is an alternative WOW program that is specified towards minority new students in order to offer these students “with a comfortable environment, and surrounding them with similar people who come from a diverse or culturally enriched back ground.” As with regular WOW groups, O.U.R. works with new students to orient them with what Cal Poly has to offer, as well as the San Luis Obispo Community. Similar to the what the Parent Orientation Weekend does for parents whose children have been enrolled in the WOW program, O.U.R. works to make available bilingual parent workshops in order to inform them on the O.U.R. program and its purposes.

WOW and Band Camp
An alternative option to a conventional WOW Group is to take part in WOW Band Camp in conjunction with the Cal Poly Mustang Band. “The Pride of the Pacific,” is California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo’s marching band. In order to allow prospective band members to get to know one another, they have the option to enter this alternative program. They will be grouped together with other new students involved in the Mustang Marching Band, as well as have three Orientation Leaders who are in the band.

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