Welcome Week Activities - 09/13/94

WELCOME WEEK ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR OHIO STATE STUDENTS

     COLUMBUS -- Almost 50,000 students will crack open their
textbooks, plug in their computers and break out the lab
equipment next week as a new academic year begins at the Columbus
campus of The Ohio State University.  Autumn quarter classes
begin Wednesday (9/21).

     Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee will welcome
students on Monday (9/19) with a convocation and picnic.  The
convocation, at 11 a.m. in St. John Arena, will feature a
colorful processional of faculty in academic regalia as well as
remarks by Gee; Jane Fraser, faculty member and president of the
Academy of Teaching; Robert Edmund, president of Undergraduate
Student Government; and Terra Fluker, a sophomore from Cleveland,
who is chairing Welcome Week activities.

     University, college and student leaders will be introduced.
Then, Gee will welcome students at a noon picnic by the French
Field House along the Olentangy River.

     The convocation and picnic are part of a week of special
events and activities designed to welcome new and returning
students.  The theme is "Footprints: Taking Steps and Following
Paths that Lead to ... Discovery, Opportunity and Success."
Activities are sponsored by Ohio Union Programs Welcome Week
Committee, the Student Events Committee and the Offices of Campus
Life, Residence and Dining Halls, and Recreation and Intramural
Sports.

     Between Sunday and Wednesday, nearly 10,000 students will be
moving into dormitories; about half of them are expected Sunday,
the first day residence halls open.  A corps of nearly 1,000 new
and returning students and campus officials will be there to
assist students and parents with their gear.

     The students, called OWLs, or "Official Welcome Leaders,"
will greet students Sunday at the 24 campus buildings that
undergraduates will call their homes for the coming year.

     "They come early, help decorate the halls, and help share
information with other students when they come," said Becky
Parker, associate director of the Office of Residence and Dining
Halls.  "They will help unload cars and help students and their
parents move belongings into the residence halls."

     The assistance has been a big hit in the past with moms and
dads.

     "Parents come here bracing themselves for a nightmare of an
experience.  They leave feeling relieved by how much support and
assistance they got," Parker said.

     Once settled in, students can purchase their textbooks and
participate in a variety of events, including a Student
Organization Fair on Tuesday, an open house at the Wexner Center
and the Ohio and Drake unions on Wednesday, and the "Just Say Hi"
Picnic and Ice Cream Social on Sept. 22.  Most events are free,
and most are open to all students, not just first-year students,
said Brenda Fields, coordinator of student programs for the Ohio
Unions.

     Special features this year are a series of workshops
designed to equip students with information to help them protect
themselves against crime.

     "We are having two personal safety workshops that are going
to be presented by OSU police and Crimewatch," Fields said.
"Following that, Crimewatch and Off-Campus Student Services are
going to talk about safety in the home and precautionary measures
students need to take."

     Other workshops will be offered on rape education and
prevention, and on dating, sex roles and violence.

     "We're trying to be pro-active in terms of personal safety
on campus as well as in the home," Fields said.  "Our focus is
not just entertainment. There are educational things we're doing
also."

     Other events include the popular Tucked Away Treasures tours
of campus, breakfasts offered by Off-Campus Student Services,
fraternity programs, music, dancing, and movies, and recreational
programs including an intramural volleyball tournament.  The
Wexner Center will host an open house on Sept. 21 and the Student
Events Committee and Phi Beta Sigma will hold the "Just Say Hi"
Picnic and Ice Cream Social on Sept. 22.
                                #

Contact:  Brenda Fields, coordinator of student programs for the
Ohio Unions, (614) 292-2324, or Becky Parker, associate director
of residence and dining halls, (614) 292-3930.

Written by Tom Spring, (614) 292-8309.


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Wed, 14 Sep 1994 08:30:44 -0500 (EST)]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.