It's a rare sight to see a college campus buzzing with activity at 7:00 on a Friday morning. But a convoy of mini vans, SUVs and U-Hauls turning off Main Street and into University Heights on August 27 could only mean one thing: Move-in day.
That Friday, 160 incoming Honors College students arrived at University Heights North. They are part of the 2,475-member Class of 2014, the second-largest ever to enter UVM. The students in this class come from 40 states and 14 countries. And while they were ready and eager to begin their college careers, they first had to deal with the not-so-small task of moving into their dormitories.
All those people from all those places could potentially lead to a hectic move-in experience. However, the 30 Honors College upperclassmen and residential staff who helped first year students move in had the process down to a science. First, the arriving student and their family's vehicle were waved into a free spot close to University Heights North. Then, while residential staff gave the student their keys, a group of upperclassmen assisted the parents with unloading the car (Six Honors College students can unload a minivan in less than five minutes). Once the car is unloaded the parent goes to find a parking spot while the incoming student and his or her upper classmen helpers hauled trunks, duffel bags and mini refrigerators up to the student's room.
Once the rooms were unpacked and the bikes were locked up to the racks, the Class of 2014 was off to have dinner with their hall mates and explore the multitude of activities taking place during the first weekend of college.
On Saturday, August 28, the Honors College freshman trekked over to the Fleming Museum to participate in what would be their first gathering in Fleming 101 (the auditorium where their plenary lectures are located) and first class-wide academic activity. Honors College Dean Abu Rizvi, Associate Dean Lisa Schnell, and Professors Dave Jenemann and Pat Hutton quickly greeted the students and then broke them up into groups. The groups, which were organized by each student's Honors College 095 class assignment, were each assigned two pieces of art work and given a mission to provide a comparison of the two.
The weekend's activities concluded on August 29th with Convocation and the traditional candlelight . President Dan Fogel greeted the incoming class and introduced guest speaker Firoozeh Dumas, author of Funny in Farsi. The weekend concluded with the Twilight Induction Ceremony. First year students poured out of the convocation ceremony and marched down Main Street to the University Green to take part in this UVM tradition. Once inducted, students had the evening to themselves before classes, and their college careers, officially began the next day.