Students Return to Campus Saturday to Inaugurate 2010-11 School Year

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Beginning Saturday morning, the population of Columbia will begin to expand by more than 25 percent as Lindsey Wilson College officially welcomes undergraduate students back to its A.P. White Campus.

Over the last week, student-athletes on fall sports teams moved into residence halls. They were joined by more than four dozen Bonner Leaders, resident advisers and international students.

Beginning on early Saturday morning, the rest of the neighborhood will arrive as freshmen and new students arrive on campus. Officially, freshmen and new students are not expected to arrive until 9 a.m. CT, but LWC officials won't be surprised if students and their families arrive shortly after the crack of dawn.

"We tell students and their families they will have plenty of time to move in and get settled if they arrive by 9 a.m., but we always have the early arrivals -- people who are anxious to get to campus or people who made really good time driving to Columbia," said LWC Dean of Students Dean Chris Schmidt, who has been involved in more than a dozen move-in days.

New students should report to the large tent on the Campus Quadrangle, where they will be instructed where to proceed. Returning students will move into the residence halls on Monday. (Click here for a full schedule of events.)

By the time students are settled, the college expects well more than 1,000 students living in residence halls this school year. That would smash the college's previous record of residential students, 847, set last school year. Classes begin on Wednesday, Aug. 18.

"When you realize that Columbia's total population is 4,000, that's like adding to the town by 25 percent," said Vice President for Student Services and Enrollment Management Dean Adams. "That also means 1,000 more customers for area merchants and stores. Or as some people have called residential college students, Columbia's economy will benefit from having nine-month tourists."

When residential students arrive at the A.P. White Campus, they will assisted by a myriad of LWC students, staff and faculty.

"We want to make it the move-in process as easy and as smooth as possible for our students and their family members," Schmidt said. "Many of these students will be living away from home for their first time in their lives. So they and their family members will be more than a little anxious, and we want to allay those fears."

On Saturday, after students get settled in their rooms and enjoy lunch on the Campus Quad or Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center, they will attend several informational meetings.

"Almost all of the students have attended an EDGE (orientation) day, so they are familiar with the campus and the college," Schmidt said. "But over the weekend, we will introduce them to different parts of Lindsey Wilson life that will help them get off to a successful start in college."

The weekend's highlights include "Lindseypalooza," a team-building activity in the Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center; a picnic on the lawn of the Emily Hundley President's Home; and excursions to several regional attractions.

"The idea behind scheduling a lot of activities between when students move in and when they start classes on Wednesday is to provide students with multiple opportunities to meet their new classmates in a setting outside of the classroom and to also prepare them for when classes begin," said LWC Director of Student Activities Jayne Hopkins.

Monday's events will include a talk by legendary Kentucky journalist David V. Hawpe. The retired editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal will speak about "This I Believe" in the Norma & Glen Hodge Center for Discipleship with a simulcast available to an overflow crowd in V.P. Henry Auditorium.

For the third consecutive year, all LWC freshmen are reading a common text. This year they are reading This I Believe II: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women -- a collection of essays edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman.

Monday will also include a dress rehearsal for the return of football at Lindsey Wilson. The football scrimmage -- which will take place at 7 p.m. CT at Blue Raider Stadium -- will be preceded by the inaugural Raider Walk from the Campus Quadrangle to the stadium. The walk begins at 6:15 p.m. CT.

The LWC Student Government Association will host the L-Dub Club Fair at 2:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday on the Campus Quadrangle. And then at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Aug. 19, the annual Wares Fair will be held in the Doris and Bob Holloway Health & Wellness Center.

Sponsored by the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce, the Wares Fair gives students an opportunity to learn about services offered by businesses of Columbia-Adair County.

"The Wares Fair started in Biggers Center, but it's become such a big hit that we have moved it to the Holloway Health & Wellness Center," Hopkins said. "It's a great way to bring the college and the community together. And a big reason Lindsey Wilson is enjoying such incredibly success right now is because of the great community support."

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Click here for Opening Weekend and Welcome Back Week activities.