Class of 2015 Arrives For Orientation Week
Approximately 1,725 first-year students will be occupied by a series of events that orients them to campus and introduces them to the Durham community.
The caravan of mini-vans, SUVs and station wagons that crowded
campus roads on Tuesday morning could mean only one thing -- the approximately 1,725
members of Duke's Class of 2015 had begun moving into their East Campus
residence halls.
The students were greeted upon arrival by President Richard
H. Brodhead, other administrators, first-year advisory counselors, resident
assistants and other helpers. With assembly-line precision, they assisted the
newcomers unload cars, carry boxes inside and get acclimated.
Later in the day, the new students would pose for their
student ID photos, set up their email accounts and pick up their textbooks, all
essential for life at Duke.
The rest of the week for first-year students will be occupied
by a series of events that orients students to campus and introduces them to
the Durham community.
"Move-in
day at Duke highlights a community effort among upperclass students, faculty
and staff to welcome the incoming class," said Clay Adams, assistant dean for residence life and director of New Student
Programs. "New student orientation has been deliberately designed
to support the acclimation and academic preparedness of our students."
The
Class of 2015 represents 46 states and 55 countries. California is the state
that produced the most students with 191 (11 percent), followed by North
Carolina with 185 (11 percent), New York with 152 (9 percent) and Florida with
126 (7 percent). This year's class sets a record for the number of
African-American students in a first-year class (192), and contains the
third-highest number of both Latino (117) and Asian first-year students (450)
in school history. More than 11 percent (200) are from other countries.
On Wednesday, Brodhead and Dean of Undergraduate Education
Steve Nowicki will officially welcome the new students at the annual 11 a.m.
convocation ceremony, which can be viewed live online on Duke's Ustream channel,
and Facebook
page. Twitter
users can comment during the convocation using the tag #dukelive.
At 7 p.m. Wednesday, first-year
students will gather on the East Campus quad just before sundown for pep talks from
coaches and a class photo in which they spell out their graduation year: 2015.
The event will be streamed live for the first time on the Duke
Ustream channel. Friends and
family can chime in on Twitter using the hashtags #Duke2015 and #dukelive.
One of the week's highlights is a Thursday DukeReads presentation in
Page Auditorium by Jonathan Safran Foer, the author of the summer
reading selection "Eating
Animals." The book offers a detailed look at the process of raising and slaughtering farm
animals. Incoming students will break out into discussion groups after hearing
from the author at either a 10 a.m. or 2 p.m. session. The event will be streamed live on Duke's Ustream channel at 2 p.m.
The food theme will continue Saturday evening when Duke's
Nasher Museum of Art hosts a small art exhibition for incoming students that presents more than 30 works based on
the summer reading selection. "Eating Animals: A Thematic Installation of Art Inspired by
the Book," on display through Oct. 16, challenges visitors -- whether carnivores, omnivores, vegetarians or
vegans -- to think about what eating meat means to them.
Thursday evening, the first-year students will leave campus
by bus for a "Night on the Town" that includes dinner at the American Tobacco
Campus and dessert and entertainment at the Durham Performing Arts Center
(DPAC).
The entertainment at DPAC will be provided by Duke music
professor and jazz artist John Brown, who has organized a new music
appreciation program, "Duke Listens," for incoming students. The program offers
an overview of jazz, hip-hop and R&B history, interspersed with musical
performances and live Q&A sessions with musicians. The Pitchforks, a men's
a capella singing group at Duke, will open the show.
During the week, students will hear from academic advisers,
deans, student leaders and student group, ranging from religious life to Duke's
many global and study abroad programs. There will also be several small-group
activities, information sessions on various campus services, and the annual
trip to Target for students to purchase dorm room items and back-to-school
supplies.
Additionally, in observance of Ramadan, Duke's Muslim
Students Association will hold iftars, evening meals to
break the daily fast, at 7 each evening on the upper level of the East Campus Marketplace.
A full schedule of events can be found on the Student Affairs website.
The students will be introduced to "Duke, Durham and Beyond" with events that include a preview of Duke Athletics, a show by Duke University
Improv, and faculty-led tours of Duke and Durham.
On Saturday, faculty
will take student groups on several outings or
excursions into Durham and the surrounding community. For example, Duke
biologist Mohamed Noor will take students on a foodie tour of "cheap eats in
Durham" that introduces them to Carolina barbecue and local Mexican food. Sam
Wells, the dean of Duke Chapel who hails from England, will take a group to the
top of Duke Chapel to take in the view while having "high tea." Robin Kirk,
director of the Duke Human Rights Center, will lead students on a civil rights
tour of Durham, with a particular focus on Pauli Murray's
legacy. And others will join Lee Baker, the dean of academic affairs for Trinity
College, for laser tag, Go-Kart racing and mini-golf at Frankie's Fun Park.
"Incoming students can sometimes be a little intimidated and
anxious," Baker said. "This is an opportunity to foster student-faculty
interaction early in the students'college experience, and to show off the
Triangle. Frankie's Fun Park is a fun way to introduce students to a
popular attraction and meet the dean in a very casual way."
The orientation will conclude on Sunday with a talk be
celebrated poet Maya Angelou at 4 p.m. in Duke Chapel. (Her talk is open only to
first-year students.)
Classes start on Monday, Aug. 29.
Motorists
traveling to and around Duke's East and West campuses should allow for extra travel time during move-in week. With heavier traffic and
an increase in parking needs, all parking areas on East Campus will be cleared
of vehicles from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. And entrances to East Campus will be
closed to everyone except students moving in.