4.NAP coordinator holds a orientation at Berkeley right before the Fall sememster begins. The purpose of this is to provide an opportunity for the newcomers to get to know each other. New students informaion obtained from SISS is provided. Information release permission has been requested from them. The list could be used by volunteers to select particular person to help, and by new students to contact each other for help from themselves even before they arrive at Berkeley.
New students can also update their information through an on-line update form.
For 1996 and 1997 term, NAP was a great success. However, there existed some cases that new students abused the valuable volunteer resource. Most volunteers are busy themselves. For example, a newcomer may ask different people for airport pickup or housing hunting without letting them know the situation. Some volunteers drove to SFO, waited for hours in vain with their warm-heart discouraged.