09/30/92
CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558
Sixteen hundred new freshmen and 143 transfer students arrived at Stanford on Sept. 24, kicking off a joyous week of orientation receptions, parties, workshops and tours.
Departing from recent tradition, parents remained with their sons and daughters most of the first day, helping them unload their belongings, eating lunch in the dorms and attending a joint welcome program that afternoon in Frost Amphitheater.
Speakers included Stanford President Gerhard Casper, who invited the students to his Oct. 2 inauguration; Vice Provost for Student Affairs Mary Edmonds; and Dean of Admissions James Montoya - all newcomers themselves to campus positions in the past year.
They were followed by James Wu, a master's student in education, who served as 1992 head orientation coordinator.
Edmonds recalled the questions that ran through her mind when her own daughter went away to college: "Will my money hold out? How will she get along with her roommate? Will she make some nice friends? Will she eat properly and dress right? Will she excel in her classes. Will her allergies flair up or go away?"
"Surprisingly enough, she did very well, as will your sons and daughters," she said.
"Stanford did not accept you with the intention of getting rid of you," she told the students. "Our expectation of you is that you will succeed."
Montoya also reassured the students that they were not "mistakes" who were sent the wrong letter and that they need not be intimidated by their classmates.
"By the time you are a sophomore or a junior, you will not only understand why you were admitted, but you will begin to question why the others ever got in," he said.
He ended with a few words of advice: Be your own person. Take control of your education. Familiarize yourself with the resources and the opportunities available to Stanford. Find a mentor. And finally, keep a journal and stay in touch with your feelings.
Other orientation activities included meetings with advisers, workshops on public service opportunities and campus diversity, and programs geared toward Stanford's new Asian American, Latino, African American, Native American and international students.
Classes for all students began Wednesday, Sept. 30.
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