The Freshmen Arrive.

Saturday and the end of the first week of regular classes means that it is time for the freshmen to move onto the campus.  Unlike the return of the sophomores, juniors and seniors who arrived over a period of a few days, this was a one-day event.  The parade of black cars with darkly tinted windows entering the campus was impressive as it was meant to be.  Once inside the grounds and with the vehicle parked, families gathered at the entrance to find out where the family had to take their pride and joy for registration.

The students are clustered into cohorts, or troops if one wants to think in military terms, according to their program of studies which will typically last four years.  A small number of the groups are just under thirty students in size with other groups either forty or sixty students in size, all dependent upon the major to be studied over the four years.  There is a corresponding tuition charge for smaller class sizes as one would naturally expect.

Once the students have found their registration location and gone through the process, it was time for them to line up in order to get their uniforms for the next two weeks which are all about team-building and learning discipline.  The first set of classes will have to wait until the start of week four at the university.

The students are given military fatigues as they will spend the next two weeks being welded into strong and cohesive cohorts.  Marching, chanting, exercises, group activity and some very basic military training creates a sense of team, a sense of belonging together.  Soon the parents will leave their young prince and princesses in the hands of the university in the hopes of family dreams for their children becoming a reality.