RIT Student Orientation Services promotional material

It is unclear when RIT offered its first new student orientation program. However, in 1934 the school's administration proposed replacing its current orientation program with a series of orientation presentations. These presentations would be spread throughout the school year and would address a variety of topics including Institute rules and regulations, available extra-curricular activities, and basic writing principles.

In 1955, RIT started a new orientation program, "Freshman Daze," later called "Frosh Daze." Sponsored by both the school's administration and the RIT Student Association, the program consisted of five days of activities including freshman registration, assemblies, and social gatherings such as coffee hours, a mixer dance, and a picnic. This program continued into the 1960s.

RIT's orientation services were once again revamped in 1970 when the Student Orientation Seventy (S.O.S.) was established. The school anticipated over 5,000 new students arriving on campus in the fall of 1970. S.O.S. was setup to help new students become acquainted with the campus through various planned events. Over the next decade, the program's name changed to reflect each respective year. Thus, in 1971 the orientation program was called S.O.S. 1 (Student Orientation Seventy-one) and in 1976 it was called S.O.S. 6. Then, in 1982 the name was officially changed to Student Orientation Services (again, S.O.S.) with the stated purpose of:

...[overseeing] the development and implementation of program(s) which will successfully aid new students in their transition to the RIT environment and foster a positive attitude toward their academic success.