Survival guide helps new students become acquainted with campus

Courtesy of K&S Publishing Arizona Daily Wildcat The Freshman Survival Guide, edited by UA juniors Mitchell Karasik and Josh Stern, gives new students advice to cope on campus.

Two years ago, University of Arizona juniors Mitchell Karasik and Josh Stern decided to organize a magazine, the Freshman Survival Guide, for incoming freshmen and transfer students.

"Basically we came out here and didn't know where anything was," said Karasik, a political science major. "There was nothing to help us find our way around campus."

Stern, a communication major, and Karasik complied a list of everything an incoming student to UA would need to know about the school and surrounding area. "It has everything from where to get a good haircut to where to eat," Karasik said.

The Freshman Survival Guide helps students get acquainted with the university through advertisements and articles. The guide contains everything from maps of the campus to helpful tips for studying.

The Freshman Survival Guide was first distributed in the residence halls by the Department of Residence Life in the fall of 1996.

Mae Nekoba, a media arts freshman from Japan, said, "The guide gave me information about how to get around the university. It centers on the main things around Tucson. Coming from a foreign country, something like this really helped me get oriented to my surroundings."

The magazine is supported by two different organizations in the university, the Office of Student Programs and Residence Life. "We have our own corporation, KMS publishing, that works in conjuncture with student programs and residence life," Stern said.

Independent of the university, the magazine is funded mainly by its advertisements from local businesses and student organizations, such as Greek Life.

"If it wasn't for our ads, we wouldn't exist," Karasik said.

Stern and Karasik said they feel that new students from all colleges and universities could benefit from a survival guide, and they hope to expand the magazine to other schools. They are organizing a magazine for Arizona State University to be distributed this fall. Stern also said the name of the magazine is changing to the College Survival Guide.