Stanford extends warm welcome to incoming undergraduates on Thursday

Stanford will welcome new undergraduates to campus on Sept. 20 – move-in day – which is also the first day of New Student Orientation. The day will culminate with the 128th Opening Convocation Ceremony, which will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. in the Main Quad Courtyard.

The newest members of Stanford’s undergraduate community – first-year and transfer students – will move into their residence halls Thursday, Sept. 20, and celebrate the start of their first academic year on the Farm during Opening Convocation in the afternoon.

Some of the first students in line at FroSoCo make their way to the welcome table with their luggage in tow. Move-In Day. NSO 2016

On move-in day in 2016, students in line at FroSoCo make their way to the dorm’s welcome table. This year’s New Student Orientation begins with move-in on Sept. 20. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

The arrival of the 1,722 new students – 1,699 first-year students and 23 transfer students – also signals the first day of New Student Orientation, a four-day program designed to introduce first-year and transfer students to the wide array of academic, intellectual, leadership, cultural and social experiences available on the Farm.

In recognition of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism, Stanford moved the first day of New Student Orientation to Thursday. The holy day, also known as the Day of Atonement, begins Tuesday evening and ends Wednesday evening.

The families of new students are also invited to spend Thursday on campus, where they may attend open houses, including a Sustainability Open House on Meyer Green, the tiered plaza near Green Library. The new students and visitors are also invited to tour Green Library and the Learning Hub at Lathrop Library.

Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and other university leaders will welcome new students and their families to the Farm during the 128th Opening Convocation Ceremony, which will be held in the inner courtyard of the Main Quad from 4 to 5 p.m.

The program will also include an address by Jasmin Kamruddin, a Stanford senior who is majoring in political science and in African and African American studies in the School of Humanities and Sciences.

After Opening Convocation, the new students and their families will make their way to student residence halls for “Welcome Home” events, where they can meet dormmates and the residential staff, including resident fellows – Stanford faculty and – occasionally – senior administrative staff who live in apartments or cottages in or adjacent to student residences and act as leaders for their communities.

Then, students will bid families farewell and go to dinner with their new dormmates.

Major orientation events for new students

New Student Orientation continues Friday with signature Stanford events, including Three Books, which will feature a discussion with the authors of the books mailed to incoming students last spring: Edwidge Danticat, author of the family memoir Brother I’m Dying; Chang-rae Lee, author of the spy thriller Native Speaker; and Yuri Herrera, author of the novel Signs Preceding the End of the World.

Some orientation events are tailored to the particular needs of the 23 transfer students joining the Stanford community, a cohort that includes nine military service veterans. During a two-part presentation, “Answers for Transfers,” they will meet with advisers, administrators and representatives of campus programs, including Bing Overseas Studies and BEAM Stanford Career Education.

Meanwhile, first-year students will meet with their academic advisers to learn about preparing for their first quarter and choosing courses. In group meetings with peers, they will meet their Stanford Newcomer Guide, a member of the Stanford community who has volunteered to mentor and support a small group of students from their arrival until they declare majors.

The new students will gather in Memorial Auditorium on Friday evening for Faces of Community, which will feature performances by students – reflections, narratives, dance and music – followed by discussions about the event in residence halls.

On Saturday, the new students are invited to a reception hosted by President Tessier-Lavigne on the Hoover House Lawn, an event that will conclude with a class photo.

In the afternoon, new undergraduate students will attend Beyond Sex Ed: Consent and Sexuality at Stanford, a two-part program that begins with a 1½-hour presentation in Memorial Auditorium featuring personal stories from current students, supported by a framework for thinking about sexuality interpersonally and culturally.

There are social events galore on Saturday night, including a Muslim Community Ice Cream Social, a meditation at Windhover Contemplative Center and a Queer Family Kickback at the Lagunita Fire Pit. The evening festivities will conclude with New Student Party: Back 2 School – dancing, a photo booth, henna tattoos, tarot card readings and cartoon sketch artists – at the Arrillaga Alumni Center, an event co-sponsored by Cardinal Nights.

On Sunday, the new students will choose from a grab bag of academic, social, public service and recreational events. Among them are helping package more than 60,000 meals to be shipped to schools and families in developing countries, and attending the Cardinal Service Fair, a celebration of public service hosted by the Haas Center for Public Service