By: Lauren Zaremba (University of Delaware)
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It happens every year around the same time. College campuses all over the country go from deserted to swarming with activity in a matter of hours as both returning students and freshmen descend. Some returning students arrive with parents in tow, but for the brand new, bright-eyed freshmen students, every family member that could be squeezed into the car is along for the ride.
I will never forget that day in 2007 when I got to campus, both excited and scared out of my mind. However, I was not expecting the show we would be greeted with. Students all over campus were sitting outside on the porches of their off campus houses playing beer pong and drinking next to signs that proclaimed, “THANK YOU FOR YOUR DAUGHTERS.” My mother was mortified; my dad thought it was hilarious. The next sign we passed read, “YOU HONK WE’LL DRINK,” so what does my dad do? Honks his horn the entire way down the street.
My parents still talk about their unique welcome to campus and laugh about it at the beginning of every school year, but when I mentioned to them this morning that it would be me yelling at the cars filled with freshmen, they weren’t as enthused.
So upperclassmen, it is your duty to welcome freshmen to campus as well as the next four years of their life in the best way possible. Set up a sign like the ones my parents were greeted by or set up a kiddie pool in a grassy area near a freshman dorm. Basically, your job is to scare these unsuspecting parents as much as possible. As they drop their babies off for the next chapter of their lives, if you’ve made them think about turning the car around at least once, you have done your job right. Of course, they won’t actually turn the car around, but hopefully you’ll make an impression similar to the students who welcomed me to campus for the first time.
If you have any ideas of your own, be sure to leave them in the comments!
