Busy weekend sees students settled in, sets tone for new academic experiences

Roughly 2,000 freshman and 1,400 sophomores moved into residence halls over the weekend.

Residence halls opened to freshman Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. and sophomores began their move-in day on Sunday. This was the first year move-in days were divided by class.

The Meet State committee, along with 200 volunteers, aided incoming students with helping hands and plenty of golf carts. Even the bum mobile, driven by Ty Littan, who was in full hobo-attire, was recruited in the effort to make this years’ move-in day a smooth one.

Freshman brought futons, mini-fridges and an appetite to campus with them. During the lunch served at Sunday’s convocation, the freshman class consumed more than 900 pounds of barbecued beef, 60 gallons of baked beans, 2,200 cans of soda and 2,200 cookies for lunch.

During Sunday’s convocation, Dr. Michael Keller advised students to seek education for both its intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.

“Think of the university not as a series of buildings, but as a series of conversations,” said Keller. “Education has value for its own sake.”

Student Association president Jameson Berreth pushed students to take a sense of pride and ownership in their education and university and forget about the awkwardness of new experiences.

“College is new and awkward, but awkward is OK,” said Berreth. “Have fun at college because it goes fast.”

Provost Laurie Nichols congratulated students on choosing to pursue higher education and making South Dakota a part of their future. She said students should push the limits of their comfort to get the most out of their education.

“College is busy, but leaves plenty of time to get out of your comfort zone,” said Nichols. “Study hard, make new friends but most of all have a great, great year.”