University officials and East Lansing police are expecting a smooth fall welcome when students return to campus at the end of the month.
Instead of arriving a week before classes begin, as in previous years, this year’s MSU freshmen will have three days on campus before classes. The change was made because of concerns about student health and safety, Provost Kim Wilcox said at the Sept. 23, 2008, MSU Academic Council meeting.
Wilcox said at the meeting many people in the MSU community saw Welcome Week as a weeklong party, promoting the wrong kind of transition for freshmen.
Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education Doug Estry said student safety was one of the factors motivating the change, along with aligning the MSU academic calendar with those of other institutions.
“We would be very remiss as an institution if we weren’t concerned about the safety of our students,” he said.
Freshmen will move in Aug. 30, and other students can begin returning Aug. 31. Freshmen convocation will be held Monday, with college colloquiums following Sept. 1. Classes begin Sept. 2.
Estry and Denise Maybank, senior associate vice president for student affairs and services, said students will attend their Monday classes Wednesday. They will follow their normal Thursday and Friday schedules.
Police are expecting slightly reduced crime because of the shorter fall welcome.
“I suspect that because of the dorms opening later the weekend may be smaller but have similar activities,” East Lansing police Capt. Tom Johnstone said.
Johnstone said during Welcome Week last year, 577 citations were issued to 439 people, and 106 people were arrested. Of those cited, however, 198 had an MSU affiliation, and 46 of the arrests were MSU students.
He said many people from other colleges came to MSU for Welcome Week.
“We may not get as many people from other colleges (this year) because the other colleges are starting at that time,” he said.
He said the East Lansing Police Department still will have the same number of officers on the street as last year. He declined to say how many.
Incoming political theory and constitutional democracy and Arabic freshman Jennifer Smith said the shorter welcome period probably won’t affect her.
“I think (Welcome Week) is basically a luxury for kids to go out and meet people, but I don’t think we’re going to be inhibited at all in terms of meeting people,” she said.
Several Welcome Week social events previously held on separate nights have been combined for the new Fall Welcome, according to its Web site.
Both the Midnight Moonlight Madness Shopping Spree, held at Meijer, and U-Fest, an event at the Union offering games and free food, will be held Monday night. The concert and Sparticipation, a student group recruiting event, will both be part of “Spartan Spectacular” held Tuesday night at Munn Field.
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