To All Colby Students:
Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your time away over the summer and that these first few days of the semester are off to a good start for you. Like you, those of us who work here appreciate the opportunity to rest and recharge during June, July, and August but we miss having you around and we're really glad that you are back on campus. It was a busy summer on Mayflower Hill so I am writing to update you on some of what has been going on and pass along some information on items of interest to students.
Please join me in offering another big warm welcome to the 495 members of the Class of 2016 who arrived in force on August 28. The newest Mules have been oriented and COOTed and are diving into classes and all aspects of Colby life. Remember to extend that famous Colby hospitality and friendliness by saying "Hello" when you cross paths with others on campus and offering assistance if you encounter someone who seems like s/he isn't quite sure how to get someplace or do something. Those little acts of kindness are part of the fabric of Colby that leave a lasting imprint on all of us.
Arrival, move-in, and orientation for 495 new students doesn't just happen.
It takes months of planning and preparation by dozens of people, and weeks of hard work by hundreds more to make everything go smoothly. Needless to say, the list is too long and your attention span is too short for me to single out everyone who is deserving of praise for their important contributions to orientation and opening but the following individuals and groups have done too much not to be identified in some way:
- Jed Wartman, Barbara Moore, Regina Ouimette, and the rest of the Dean of Students Office and Campus Life staff oversee every aspect of arrival and orientation and do a fabulous job.
- Likewise PPD, Campus Security, and Dining Services.
- Huge props to the HRD's and CA's for all the time, energy, and care that goes into making move-in and orientation a positive experience.
- Ditto the COOT Committee and COOT Leaders for their great work in training and leading trips all over Maine.
- I want to give a special shout out to Berol Dewdney '13 for the phenomenal job she did in making the "In Their Footsteps" video that was the centerpiece of the first night of orientation. Thanks too to all of the students who participated in the project and offered such great advice and insights to the first-year class. (The video is awesome and will hopefully be available for viewing on the website very soon. We'll let you know when that happens.)
- Also a nod of appreciation goes to the members of the football team who carved time out of their preseason schedule to help '16ers move into their residence halls on the 28th
One need only spend five minutes walking around campus on arrival day to understand that "community" at Colby is more than just a buzzword on the admissions website.
The annual State of the College community meeting is Monday, September 10 at
7 p.m. in Page Commons. President Adams and SGA President Morgan Lingar '13 and Vice President Kareem Kalil '13 will speak about issues of interest to students for the upcoming year. Also, other members of the administration and student leaders will be in attendance to answer questions and participate in an open campus discussion. Remember to mark your calendars and plan to be there!
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As mentioned in my mid-summer message to you, there has been a lot of building and facilities work taking place on campus. The work and progress on the addition to the Colby Art Museum is obvious to everyone. You should also know:
- The new Wadsworth Gymnasium floor is finished and should be ready for action this weekend.
- The new floor for the field house will be completed in early October.
- Construction will begin on the new science building (between SSW and the tennis courts; across Mayflower Hill Drive from the art museum).
The fall Campus Life Expo and all-campus BBQ will be on Wednesday, September
12 at 5 p.m. on Dana lawn. Representatives from over 100 student and campus organizations will be on hand to provide information and help you get sign-up and get involved. So bring a pen and come by. (Also, if you want dinner on Wednesday you're going to have to show so, you know...)
Good luck to the fall athletic teams, most of whom open their 2012 campaigns this weekend. Volleyball is hosting the Colby Invitational today and tomorrow and will be in action beginning at 5 p.m. this afternoon. Men's and Women's cross country take on Bates tomorrow at 11 a.m. on the arboretum trails. Also, field hockey and men's and women's soccer get started tomorrow with NESCAC conference games at Connecticut College. Football has another week of practice before taking on Bates in a pre-season scrimmage at Alfond Stadium. Go Mules!
The clock has started on production of Powder and Wig's annual One-Week Musical. This year's seven day wonder, "Legally Blond," will be performed on Friday, September 14. Look for announcements next week for specific information about time and location. Break a leg!
With the start of the 2012 fall term comes the first phase of Colby's transition to becoming an entirely tobacco free campus. As stated on the Colby website, the policy is driven by an institutional commitment to "reducing harm from tobacco use and secondhand smoke, providing an environment that encourages persons to be tobacco-free, reducing long-term health-care costs, and promoting a campus culture of wellness." Detailed information about the policy can be found at:
www.colby.edu/administration_cs/humanresources/wellness/tobacco-free-policy.cfm
Beginning later this month the College Affairs Committee (CAC) will be working on defining specific elements of the policy implications for students. CAC will communicate regularly with the community about the progress of this work as the year unfolds.
September Loudness is here and as always we expect this weekend will be a fun and exciting one for Colby students. A number of student organizations including SGA and SPB as well as all of the CA's have planned a full weekend of activities on and off campus to help students celebrate the start of the new academic year, reconnect with friends you haven't seen since last year, and meet new members of the Colby community. We want you to have a great time and enjoy the weekend. So we also want to remind you to be smart and safe this weekend. If you are attending events off campus remember that your actions impact our neighbors in the local communities and that the state of Maine has an aggressive campaign to combat underage drinking so make good choices, be careful, and be respectful. Finally, and most importantly, take care of yourselves and each other. If you see someone heading down a path that could be harmful intervene. And, don't ever hesitate to get help if someone is in ! trouble or distress. Be smart, be safe, and make Loudness great.
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You may recall that as part of the mid-summer edition of this update notice I encouraged students to write in and share with us what you did over summer break. I want to thank those of you who wrote in and I assure you that it is still my intention to convey the information you sent in with the rest of the student body. I know that you will be interested in learning about the cool and interesting things that your friends and classmates did over the summer, And, I hope that sharing it broadly will help others of you think about potential endeavors for future breaks or life after Colby. But, before I go further I want again to encourage people to take a couple of minutes and write-in to tell us about the things you did over break. Just a few sentences will be plenty to help us create a message board of interesting and helpful information from which everyone can benefit. Send your stories to dos@colby.edu Thanks!
While I will continue to send these updates a few times each semester going forward, this will be the last time you will get it via Official Notice. A few weeks back I introduced a series of messages intended to provide information, insight, and advice to students about life at Colby under the title of LIVING COLBY. Members of the Class of '16 are very familiar with the LIVING COLBY installments by now as they have received several that were specifically focused on issues of particular relevance to first-year students. All of the LIVING COLBY installments can be accessed at :
www.colby.edu/administration_cs/student-affairs/livingcolby.cfm
Going forward, in addition to these update notices LIVING COLBY will look through a wider lens at topics and issues that more broadly impact all Colby students. AND (this is the part I'm really psyched about) beginning next week LIVING COLBY will be sent out to the student body in a new, easier to read and much better looking format (and it will eliminate the occasion bizarre appearance of random punctuation marks and paragraph breaks that seem to mystically appear in General and Official Notices). Anyway, look for these updates and other information from me via LIVING COLBY starting soon.
That's it and that's all for now. Welcome back and have a great year.
Jim Terhune
Dean of Students
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