This year, the Vanderbilt Visions program requires all freshmen to attend the Vanderbilt University Theater presentation of “The Shape of Things.”

Last spring, Vanderbilt’s Norms and Values Committee worked with VU Theater to select a play that would be both relevant to students and feasible for the university to produce, and “The Shape of Things,” by Neil LaBute, was the final choice.

In the play, a female graduate student seduces a male undergraduate into changing his appearance and character. However, she has an ulterior motive for changing the young student.

“I think one of the things that’s really neat about it is it’s three undergraduates and a graduate student, I believe, so it’s very accessible to this audience,” said Sydney Larson, president of VUcept. “I think it will be something that people will really connect with.”

“There’s a lot of swearing, and it’s very real. I think more than some of the other plays that we were looking at, it will be something that a lot of people are really able to identify with and get more out of.”

Vanderbilt Visions is the new extended orientation program for the incoming freshmen. Meeting in groups of 20 once a week, freshmen read articles about aspects of campus life, such as integrity, relationships and personal accountability, and they discuss them during the meeting.

“One of the things we’re hoping the play will make people think about is that in college, a lot of people are trying to figure out what and whom they really value and what they’re going to allow to influence them and what they’re deciding on their own,” Larson said.

“You’re on your own, and you don’t have Mom and Dad saying, ‘Do this’ or ‘Do that.’ You realize you can pretty much do whatever you want, and nobody’s really going to say yes or no. I think it’s really important to think about what you’re letting influence you.”

However, some freshmen are skeptical of the play’s role in shaping their freshman experience.

“I like the idea of Vanderbilt Visions, but I think some of the issues we talk about aren’t very relative to the adjustment,” said freshman Micah O’Hare.

“I haven’t seen the play yet, so I don’t know what it’s about, but I don’t think it’s going to help me get adjusted.”

The most common criticism of Vanderbilt Visions and its relation to the play is that it is mandatory for the freshmen to attend.

“I just don’t understand what they think we’re going to get out of it,” said freshman Sam Woods.

“We talk about things we already know. Why should we have a required class that we can get suspended for'”

However, Larson said that the full benefit of the Visions program have yet to be seen.

“I think a lot of people that are going through it may realize a little bit more in retrospect how much they got out of it,” said Larson.

“There are some sections struggling more than others, but I think that on the whole, it’s going well, and people are enjoying it for a variety of reasons.”

Glenna DeRoy contributed reporting to this article.