Bags are unpacked, rooms are decorated and parents are long gone. The Shippensburg University Class of 2020 has arrived.

Orientation Team helped new students transition to college life last week, whisking first-year and transfer students into a whirlwind of non-stop activities.

Welcome Week started Wednesday as the first students moved into the residence halls. Students rounded out up their first week by visiting Cornfest in town and participating in community service on Saturday. Welcome events are planned up to Sept. 1 for the newest members of the SU community. Below are a few highlights from Fall Welcome Week 2016:

Convocation

Seated on the grass of Old Main’s lawn, students listened to words of advice from students, faculty and staff on Thursday.

Convocation is the only event, other than graduation, when one entire class comes together.

“This week, especially, is designed for you to learn the culture of this campus,” said human communications professor Kara Laskowski.

“Every decision you make will have far-reaching impact,” Laskowski said in her keynote speech.

In the shadow of his office at Old Main, SU President George “Jody” Harpster welcomed students and urged them not to forget their purpose.

“This is an academic institution first,” Harpster said, “This is not high school, this is college. Work is different.”

Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Barbara Lyman added to this message. About one out of every 100 people in the world has a college degree, Lyman said, which can greatly affect one’s earnings in their career. She said students should consider this to stay motivated — while still having fun.

“It’s a populous world we live in with over 7.3 billion people…you will be one of a privileged few,” Lyman said.

Student Senate President Traci Moyer closed with brief remarks, urging students to make the best of their four years at SU.

Welcome Rally

“We are the Raiders. Mighty, mighty Raiders,” the Shippensburg University Orientation Team chanted to a couple hundred first-year students just waking up for another day of Welcome Week.

The new students gathered in the H. Ric Luhrs Performing Arts Center on Friday for the Welcome Rally, which was led by José Ricardo Osorio, chair of SU’s modern languages department. Ricardo presented a game to students where they could win prizes while learning some tips about how to approach their first semester at SU.

“One in three students that come to college in their first semester do not make it to the next semester,” Ricardo said, before diving into an anecdote about students in his Spanish classes. Languages are hard to learn, he said, and when a student seems to learn it easily he interviews him or her to find out why. There are 10 behaviors Ricardo said he found some of his better students had.

During the Welcome Rally he asked for volunteers to come on stage one-by-one to read a question to the audience that related to the three most important behaviors Ricardo observed. The first one asked what the difference between attitude and aptitude is.

Ricardo gave the new students a chance to discuss it and then explained IQ has to do with aptitude while attitude is different.

“Attitude is how you face a problem,” he said. “Attitude is key.”

The second and third questions were about thinking outside the box versus inside the box and the difference between wanting to learn and needing to learn.

“Feeling uncomfortable is part of learning,” he said. “Anyone can learn, but you have to want to.”

After getting several volunteers on stage, Ricardo gave them keys that could open one of three boxes. The boxes contained prizes such as snacks or gift cards. One student was chosen to get a prize, with a condition, which served as a final piece of wisdom to students. The student received an envelope with $100 in it and had to split it up among other students whom she thought needed it. Once she did that she could enjoy her own prize of gift cards.

Playfair

New students eagerly waited inside the Ceddia Union Building (CUB) to see what the Orientation Team and Residence Hall Association had planned for them on Friday afternoon.

The students were greeted with music, cheering and clapping as Orientation Leaders formed a human alley for the students to walk through into the multipurpose room. The icebreaker event began with students linking their arms together and snaking around the room before finally sitting down in front of the stage. Playfair had begun.

A representative from Playfair, Dina Thomas, ran the program, which was filled with tons of team building exercises. This was Thomas’ third year hosting the Playfair at SU.

“I always love coming to Shippensburg because the energy is so great, and everyone proudly participates,” Thomas said. Thomas hosts Playfair for schools all over the country.

In one game, students had to find other people born in the same month. When Thomas announced the month, students jumped up screaming, “September! October!” and all the other months. Thomas then challenged students to learn as many names of their group members as possible.

Toward the end of the event students played an extreme version of rock, paper, scissors. Every time someone lost the game they became a cheerleader for the person who beat them. As more people lost, the victors continued to battle each other, the noise growing louder. In the end, only two students stood.

Derek Shuman and Kenneth Mull stepped onto the stage to play rock, paper, scissors in front of the screaming crowd. Shuman won in the best two out of three matches.

“Playfair is really about team building, and building a sense of community as well as welcoming new students into the college to make them feel at home,” Thomas said.

Students laughed and met tons of new people as they started their first chapter of college.

Spirit Rally

After an action-packed day of activities, students and athletes flooded the Seth Grove Stadium on Friday evening for the Welcome Week Spirit Rally.

The SU Marching Band was a star at the rally, showing off the skills members learned during band camp. Student emcees Ruben Bourdeau and Evan Redding pumped up the crowd by launching T-shirts into the sea of flailing arms in the bleachers. Big Red danced on the track, leading everyone in the wave. Members of SU sports teams introduced themselves and asked the new students to support them at their upcoming games.

The Spirit Rally became serious for a moment when CUB Interim Director Marsha Bonn stepped forward with her 2-year-old son. Owen has retinoblastoma, eye cancer, in both of his eyes.

“Owen was diagnosed four days after his second birthday, but hopefully this year will be cancer free,” Bonn said, her words met with cheers.

The Office of New Student Orientation, ROTC and the Career and Community Engagement Center teamed up to sponsor a 5K Fun Run/Walk to benefit Owen, which was held Saturday night. The proceeds will go toward Owen’s treatment, along with travel and lodging, Bonn said. The family travels to Philadelphia about once a month for treatment. Bonn thanked the SU community for its support and asked students to participate in the 5K.

“So I just want to thank you in advance if you decide to run or walk tomorrow because not only are you getting involved, but you’re also making a difference in this little boy’s life,” Bonn said.

Troy S. Okum, News Editor; and Missy Langdon, Opinion Editor; contributed to this article.

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