Reminds me – at my dorm orientation as a college freshman, we played a “Newly Roomie” game, where you had to spend some time talking to your new roommate, getting to know her favorite food, music, color, and so on. Then we had a game-show-like contest with prizes for those who got the most questions right.
My roommate was my best friend from high school. We won by a landslide. 
js_africanus, thanks for clearing that up. D’oh!
I went to a boarding school for high school, and it happened to be the school at which Dead Poets’ Society was filmed (it’s also where the season finale for the second season of The West Wing was filmed). The school makes a big deal out of the DPS connection because it’s a reference that gives people an instant visual image of the school. For those of you who remember the film, there’s a scene near the end where an English class stand up on their desks and each student says “O Captain! My Captain!”. Very moving.
Anyhow, there we were, brand-new freshmen at boarding school on the first day of classes. We’re all away from home, surrounded by strangers, seated around a large round table. The English teacher starts the first lesson, gets about two minutes into his monologue, and then stops and says to us, “Alright everyone. Up on the table. Let’s get it out of your systems so we can get some learning done.”
Everyone got up on the table, a few of us muttered “O Captain etc.”. He urged us to say it with a little conviction. One or two students did, we all had a laugh, sat down, and then did introductions. I think he was the teacher who knew a novelist or poet from each of our home states (although he had the list ahead of time and could have done his research).
I should mention that with a lecture class filled 88 students we do not have, "learn your neighbors deepest secrets or tell me about yourself"…
In that instance it is mainly witty jokes about the new institution they are attending. (Only freshman classes can fill a lecture hall) Upper classes are much more confined…
No I save the talking icebreakers for smaller more intimate classes. Why I taught a class last semester with 12 people in it, we sat around a large circular table - then of course we did some initial talking 
A class of twelve is a whole different thing. It’s when there’s a bunch of people, and they’re all looking at me, and I don’t know them, and I HATE that. Twelve, now, that’s different. I wouldn’t have a problem there.
I think part of my hatred for these stems from stupid games we used to have to do in Girl Scouts when we got together with other troops. No, I CAN’T remember thirty damn names in a row! And even if I did, I couldn’t connect them with faces. No, I will not play this damn game. If you forget my name, just ask. I’m guaranteed to forget yours, which has nothing to do with you. And I don’t give a rat’s patootie about your favorite color.
Resentment? Oh yes. Definitely.