Freshmen Learn Ropes at Cal State Fullerton

Chien Lien is on a quest for knowledge.

Like many students in Cal State Fullerton’s largest freshman class in five years, Lien wants to know what she should study for personal enrichment and a successful career.

But Thursday morning, the first day of classes, the 18-year-old Anaheim resident had a more pressing issue on her mind: Where, exactly, was the bookstore?

“I’ve never visited the campus actually,” said Lien, who by midmorning had already attended an English and Asian American studies class. “It’s kind of a new world.”

Fortunately for Lien and hundreds of other new students on the 225-acre campus, “Survival Booths,” a mainstay of the campus for five years, were there to help.

This fall, the booths--staffed by sympathetic upperclassmen--were kept especially busy, mainly because of the university’s larger-than-usual freshman class of 3,603--almost a thousand more freshmen than three years ago. About 22,000 students have enrolled so far this semester. By the time registration closes in a few weeks, university officials expect final enrollment to be about the same as last year, when 22,604 enrolled.

The first-year students, like thousands of other returning students and community college transfers, were greeted by the typical signs of a new fall semester--hot weather and long lines at the bookstore.

Near the bookstore, at the student activity center, students were informed about upcoming orientation activities, including free concerts and academic open houses, and how to find a part-time job during school.

But at the survival booths, where newcomers can learn about everything from tutorial programs to financial aid to where to get a cup of coffee, the most common inquiries came from panicked students who couldn’t find their classrooms.

“I was there a couple of years ago, and I stopped at these booths,” said Matthew Degen, who like other booth workers received minimum wage and priority registration for his labor. “You don’t want to be late on your first day of class.”

But Degen ran into a question or two Thursday that he couldn’t satisfactorily answer.

“Some of the guys ask, ‘Where do I find the cute girls?’ ” said Degen. “I usually tell them to just look around.”

Other popular sites on campus were registration tables for the various student organizations.

Pi Kappa Phi, one of the largest Greek organizations on campus, with about 80 members, passed out literature near the student center.

“Most people ask us about hazing, which we don’t do,” said Joe Chirco, 21, a junior biology major and member of the fraternity’s rush committee. “You can’t call someone an idiot one minute and then try to be their friend the next. We try to treat people like gentlemen.”

Of course, the first day of class meant students were already learning. Barbara Luther, an anthropology major and transfer from Rancho Santiago College, spent the morning in a class called “Comparative Aesthetics and Symbolism.”

“At community college, we spent our first few days on rules and regulations,” said the 47-year-old Orange resident. “But today we launched right into the subject, and it was fascinating.”

And whether a new student or not, all visitors to the campus Thursday got a frustrating lesson in supply and demand courtesy of the jammed campus parking lots. Finding a parking space took as long as 20 minutes in some campus lots.

Senior Scott Valenzuela considered himself lucky after nabbing a spot in 15 minutes.

“Patience is the key word for parking,” said the 22-year-old history major from Anaheim. “Especially on the first day of class.”

But Valenzuela, like many upperclassmen, knows that the parking always improves as the weeks pass.

“In a few weeks, parking won’t be much of a problem,” he said. “By then, everyone starts skipping classes.”

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Students Uprising

Cal State Fullerton has its largest freshman class since fall 1991.

Year: Class Size

1991: 3,777

1992: 3,542

1993: 2,725

1994: 2,735

1995: 3,078

1996: 3,603

Source: Cal State Fullerton Office of Admissions and Records