Saddle Up fails to create a positive experience for students

From August 14 to August 20, approximately 1300 incoming, transfer, and veteran students participated in the new required orientation program Saddle Up.

“You’re helping foster a camaraderie, a good environment amongst your groups, really just to help to make sure that these students are having a good freshman experience,” Grant Dillivan, a Pokes Pack Leader, said.

While it was a consistent comment among students and program leaders that Saddle Up needed better organization, many attributed its flaws to being a first-year program.

“Obviously, it’s a new program so not only are we trying to adjust to things, but so are instructors,” Kelly Frimml, a Psychology major, said. “Other than that, I think that it’s a good idea and that I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with my Pokes Pack, talking, laughing, and making memories.”

However, not every student had the same positive experiences that Dillivan and Frimml had.

“I went home actually because I had a panic attack,” Anonymous Female said.

Of the students willing to speak with BI about this matter, many reiterated that the program needed improved organization and that they were often feeling overwhelmed and tired.

“It was from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day with only an hour break a day, and unlike when you’re in a classroom where you’re allowed to leave, we were forced to stay the whole duration,” Anonymous Female said.

“The original schedule that gave us the email was different from the schedule they gave us, which was different from the schedule given to us the day of, which is different from the master schedule that the Pokes Pack guides had,” Anonymous Male said.

Although students had been broken down into colleges and majors, classes they had to attend were not necessarily relevant to their major or catered to their previous educational experience.

“Some people hadn’t even taken like pre-calc and were put in calc one for Saddle Up, so I’m thinking ‘How is this fair?’” Anonymous Female said. “So the teacher ended up doing participation grade if you completed the quiz or not.”

Another student recounted how when voicing his opinion, he was directly contacted by Saddle Up organizers.

“When I was contacted, I was told that I was disrupting my peers’ experience,” Anonymous Male said. “They wouldn’t let me leave until I said that I wouldn’t talk negatively about the program despite the fact my Poke group and everyone I knew agreed with me.”

Students also voiced how the program felt more like “summer camp” and undermined their independence as adults.

“It was supposed to prepare us for college but it felt like it was preparing us for middle school again,” Anonymous Male said. “Hands being held everywhere we went and we got no say in the matter.”

Solutions posed by the students included a variety of changes such as returning to original orientation days, having the program occur in tandem with the first week of school, making it optional, or even having people on campus to provide directions.