#o-week

O-Week Festival is all about you and discovering your new campus. Whether you’re keen to meet new mates, join a club or sporting team, or simply get involved in the good vibes of the week - Swinburne Student Life is bringing it all to you.

We compiled this transcript from an interview with Tanya Hennessy on her time at USYD.

Nowadays, Tanya is prolific across the Australian social media landscape. Her comedic videos and blog posts have garnered her an immense following, with 87,548 subscribers on YouTube to testify that — and that was just the last time we checked! We figured She had plenty to spill on what her memories of O-Week were like and how our student culture influenced her time at uni. We linked up with her last Tuesday evening in the lead-up to the 2019 O-Week.

Interviewer: So good to see you, Tanya. I imagine it’s been a long time since you last sat on the Courtyard lawn.

Tanya: It has. You know, those few years you spend pushing through your undergrad fly, and so does life on the other side of that. It makes it easy to forget. But I have to say that watching the sun set behind those buildings, setting this lawn ablaze, is truly special. It’s good to be back.

Interviewer: Those are formative years of your life in many ways, aren’t they?

Tanya: Absolutely. Uni feels like a time for you to be testing those new wings you’ve just started to spread. In many ways, though, you’ve already taken flight, which is such an exciting and scary thought to have both in retrospect and at the time. While the specifics do get a bit blurry around the edges, it’s difficult to lose grip on the importance of that chunk of your life.  

Interviewer: It’s so great you’re able remember it that way. And the University wants all its students to have that reflection. I suppose that’s why introductory events like O-Week are so important.

Tanya: Very true, once again. It sort of feels like the institution’s Christmas. The year gets quite stressful, but that’s a moment taken to celebrate what an amazing opportunity we all have to be here together.

Interviewer: Do you remember your time at O-Week, if I dare ask you stretch your memory that far back?

Tanya: (Laughs). You’re testing me now. I do, however. It’s pretty memorable feeling like a baby elk on a highway — that’s what Eastern Avenue felt like at the time. I was making my way towards Fisher; I had a print-out copy of a campus map in my right hand. It was hot at that time of year; everyone was more interested in using them as fans than they were as directories.

Interviewer: What do you remember about the sort of conversations you had that day?

Tanya: God. I remember being so excited but even more overwhelmed. The campus is just tremendous. I thought I wasn’t going to get around to everything in time. I wanted to have a chat with some of the faculty members. Now, don’t get me wrong, it was special and I did get to have some fleeting conversations here and there… But it was just full-on. (Laughs).

Interviewer: I’d like to think we’re underway with some good changes for O-Week, with that in mind. (Laughs).

Tanya: Well, truth is — and my career is a testimony to this — your ability to shape relationships between students across media has increased tenfold. So I have no doubt that’s had an impact on some of those changes you’re making.

Interviewer: That’s definitely what we’re coming to grips with this year more than ever. We’re trying to harness the potential of these platforms as more than just communicative services.

Tanya: And that’s so important. I’ve learned how much the language between people, so to speak, has changed due to the formation of digital cultures. The media we use carries so much weight. That’s why you need to engage the student body through these avenues — the student hand-overs on Snapchat are an example of how you’re doing that well.

Interviewer: I’d go as far as to say that you’re a bit of an expert on that. Getting back to O-Week with all of that in mind, what do you wish you could experience now as a first year coming in to these events?

Tanya: Wow. There’s so much more to offer, now that event programming is digital. I think that establishing a network of mates would be much easier, given that you have someone’s attention just by tagging their user handle. I think, given where I am now, it would have been awesome to be part of the student-led content. The takeovers, I mean. That’s an awesome opportunity, especially for students who are interested in taking MECO or Marketing as their majors. That just wasn’t an option five years ago.

Interviewer: I think there’s something to be said for having you here now. As a guest, I mean. Someone that a large part of our student body will have likely come across in their digital tread. You’ve built an empire off of social media.

Tanya: (Laughs). The influencer currency!

Interviewer: Most definitely!

Orientation! That week (or day) before classes starts where new students are encouraged to turn up at university to learn their way around, take tours, sign up for clubs, make friends, and eat free snacks. It’s viewed by most senior uni students as not worth attending, but if you’re new to university life, it can be a vital first step in getting accustomed to it all before classes start, and you have more important things to worry about, like assignments and getting places on time.

I only have one day to do my orientation this year, which is fine by me, because all the things I need to do are going to be happening on the same day anyway. I’ll put a picture of my planner for the day down at the end, but first I’m going to share with you a few of my tips for making the most out of orientation, whether you have one day, or an entire week.

1. Actually Go: you wouldn’t believe the amount of people who think that since Orientation isn’t compulsory, that attending isn’t worth going to. In reality, Orientation is a great time to do a whole heap of things that you won’t have time for once classes start.

2. Register for Information Sessions: Look on your university’s student portal to see if they are running information sessions. Most university will run one for the individual courses, and sometimes they also run ones on topics such as using the library, success in your first semester, and study skills.

3. Visit the Club Stalls: If your university has clubs and societies, they will likely all have little stalls set up in one of the common areas where you can visit to get information about the clubs, and even sign up if that’s something you’re interested in.

4. Find Your Classrooms: One of the most important things to do during orientation is to work out where all your classes are going to be. If you don’t understand the room codes, ask someone. There are usually people on-campus to help students with any questions. Once you know where your classroom is, actually go there. If you know what the room looks like, and where it is, and how to get there, it will save you precious time in the first week or so of classes.

5. Do any Administrative Things: This could include purchasing course materials from the on-campus bookshop (if you have one), collecting your student ID card, having meetings with professors if you have specific needs, and organising the little things like renting a locker or a bicycle parking space (if those are things you need to do).

This is the little planner sheet I’ve made for my Orientation Day. I’m attending two information sessions, one is an introduction to the Bachelor of Education, and the second is on Success in the First Semester. I also have a few little things to do like finding my classrooms and lecture theatres, picking up my textbooks from the bookshop, and collecting my student ID. I also have a meeting with my disability advisor to talk about some of the adjustments I need for my classes.

Nothing says Rice O-Week like an O-Week theme and corresponding shirt. The new students wear them, along with the magisters, RAs, coordinators, advisors, and affiliates. In 2012, the Jones coordinators made another shirt.

19-23 February

O-week week started for me with international orientation. I went with a group from my building I had gotten to know in the last few days. First activity of the day was a breakfast, that consisted of a weird pancake thing, a Apple and a small glass of orange juice. After that we headed down to the welcome talks. However when we got there we got split up into our different faculties, so suddenly I was all alone. All the arts faculty exchange students then played a game of one truth, two lies. With varying amounts of success, as it was a group of people that mostly spoke English as a second language. After that as we were given a cookie and some water, I met first Amelia and then Grace. Two American exchange students I hung out with for the rest of the day. After the welcome talk we got lunch, and very quickly figured out that we got along very well. The last activity of the day was the amazing race around campus. For this we had to run around campus doing different activities and solving clues to get to the next post. Our group did very well until it got to a drawing game that was kind of like Chinese whispers, where one guy managed to go from a house to an alien! 

Later in the week Amelia, Grace and I went to the beach, to fully take advantage of the fact that classes hadn't started yet. Later that day there was a open mic in my building, and quite a few people actually performed. 

On the Friday was the arts faculty orientation. I again met up with Amelia and Grace. We went to the first event which was a pōwhiri a traditional Maori welcome ceremony. Later in the day I went to the arts student centre to sort out my modules. They couldn't understand why there even was a problem, as they allow a one hour overlap, so I was allowed to keep my original timetable! So now my modules (or as they call them here papers) are Age of Shakespeare: Tragedies, Creating Stories, Pacific Indigenous Literatures and Knowledges and Making Sex: The Modern Histories of Sex.