Lessons in Life : CSUN Program of Skits Orients Freshmen to Sometimes Gritty Realities

Freshman orientation used to be a cookies-and-punch tour of campus life.

But at Cal State Northridge, about 2,000 incoming freshmen this month were instead invited to a beer-and-pot party, introduced to a homosexual classmate and then shown what it’s like to be a victim of date rape in a series of gritty skits that were presented for the first time this year.

“Date rape, sexism, homophobia, racism, drugs and alcohol--these are issues you may or may not experience in your four years here,” said CSUN student Jamie Yarow, who introduced the skits performed by volunteer upper-class members to about 100 freshmen during a recent orientation session.

But whether students experience those issues firsthand, they are now a part of modern campus life, said Tom Piernik, the university’s assistant director of activities who is responsible for presenting the skits at CSUN orientation. “It is a powerful way to get this information to new students,” Piernik said.

The skits, which followed a full day of more traditional activities such as instruction on how to register for classes, carry a predictable message: Drugs are bad, date rape is bad. Gay and lesbian students--like those students of different cultures and races--should be treated with respect.

But the performances in the voluntary orientation sessions held the attention of the often hard to impress 17- and 18-year-old students.

“I was a little turned off at first,” said Dalisa Barquero, 18, of Northridge. “But I was moved by a lot of the skits.”

In one skit, CSUN senior Tom Breneman brings his girlfriend, Maria Arnold, back to his apartment after a party. After the couple begin kissing, Maria tells Tom that she’s changed her mind about having sex with him. Tom gets angry, bolts the door and pushes Maria down on the bed. By the end of the scene, the audience is deathly quiet.

“I swear I’ll scream,” said Maria, pleading.

“If you scream, I’ll hit you,” Tom said.

“OK. Just don’t hurt me,” said Maria, giving in to Tom’s advances.

Still in character, the two answer questions asked by the audience. Maria says she feels too ashamed to report the crime. “I just don’t want anyone to know,” she says.

Tom denies that he did anything wrong. “I don’t exactly feel good about what I did . . . but I didn’t rape her, we just had an argument.” But after the discussion, the freshmen are told that if someone says, “No,” then it is rape.

Later, Breneman said the role has nothing to do with how he really acts or feels. “I have a real problem with those guys,” he said.

In contrast, in another skit, sophomore Brent Larson takes on a role that is familiar to him. His classmates in the skit are criticizing their campus newspaper for running a photograph showing two homosexuals holding hands. Larson, who at first tries tactfully to defend the photo, finally admits to his friends that he is gay.

Later, Larson tells the freshmen that he really is gay. “Gay and lesbian people are an invisible minority,” he said. The freshmen were told that about 10% of them were probably gay or lesbian.

In a skit on racism, one student complains about having black students on campus and suggests that all minorities be deported. Senior Marvin Tate, answering the student, stands up and yells, “I’m not a nigger; I’m a man.”

Tate later said racism is widespread on the CSUN campus. “You can start at the library and you’ll see the blacks here and the whites over there,” said Tate, an accounting major. “A lot of the Valley kids have never left the Valley.”

Sophomore Rafael Buelna, a real-life paraplegic who stars in a skit that mocks prejudice against the handicapped, said the orientation sessions break a lot of taboos. In his skit, two students complain that Buelna, because he is handicapped, receives preferential treatment.

Buelna told the audience not to fear approaching handicapped students. “I don’t feel uncomfortable explaining that I was hit by a drunk driver, but it shouldn’t be the first thing people ask about,” he said.

The advice given freshmen on drug and alcohol use is somewhat different from the message of abstinence often heard on high school campuses.

‘Know Your Limit’

CSUN senior Francine Vasquez, who portrays a student who often missed classes because she was always up late drinking beer and smoking marijuana, afterward told the freshmen, “I know we have the occasional social drink, but you have to know your limit and not go beyond it.”

The message of tolerance toward other students is less ambiguous, however.

“The theme is that oppression is wrong,” said Michelle Gerevas, one of the students who performed.

Now that orientation is over, Piernik said he hopes to continue presenting the skits to other campus groups and to other schools in the area.

“The university is a place where you get information and learn a lot of sometimes harsh realities,” he said.