On the last Wednesday in August, all new IU-Bloomington freshman move on to the campus. All 11 residential buildings are busy with students and their parents trying to move everything in. Streets are packed and parking lots are full.
When students arrive, they have to first get the key to their room and a packet of information that includes all the rules of the residential halls, a calendar of all the welcome week activities, and a campus map. I keep mine all year (even veteran IU students get lost).
Students and their parents take multiple trips up to rooms to unload clothes, microwaves, refrigerators, and much more. Once everything is unloaded rearranging and unpacking is the next step.
Once everything is put in the right place, parents leave. For many this is the tearful part, sometimes for the students, the parents, or both. I’ll admit I teared up.
That night, each floor of each resident hall has a floor meeting. Everyone on that floor gets together to meet each other and play icebreaker games. The Resident Assistant goes over rules and answers every body’s questions about classes and the IU-Bloomington campus.
During the rest of welcome week, different groups on campus host tons of programs to encourage meeting new people, get to know the campus, and to keep new freshman from being homesick.
Many students, not just freshman, take the time during welcome week to purchase their books for the upcoming semester. This often results in long lines, but I find that getting your books early is worth it. You don’t have to worry about it once classes start.
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