• Format
  • Publications (documents)
• Type
  • Text
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2014-08-15_Vol80_No01_CampusLife_B02

BZ THE WESTERN CAROLINIAN August 15, 2014 CAMPUS LIFE The 4-1-1 for freshman: How to survive your first week Lauro Odom Editor-in-Chief _ Katy Samuel * Staff Writer : su Your first year in college is a time of freedom and responsibility which can be extremely daunting at times. Here at Western there is a community of people and resources that can help make the transition into the university life easier. Move-in is not exactly like you see in the movies with people blasting music and throwing a football in the hallway, but it is one of the best and hectic mo- ments of your college career. When your family ar- rives at your respective resident halls there will be people to help carry your belongings up to your room. - To help them out the Freshman Year Experience Cabinet suggests you write your room and suite num- ber on all of your things with masking tape. If you are unsure of where you are living check your Cata- mount Email-for an email from Residential: Living. You can access your email from the WCU home-page; . there is a link to Student Email in the top right-hand corner. First, before unloading and getting settled into a dorm, hopefully all new students will have attended an orientation session to get adjusted to campus liv- ing and to give parents an idea of what to expect for their student. There is one during the week of move in that they can attend. During the orientation, you. will receive informa- tion about opportunities on campus, like social events, jobs opportunities, etc. Along with receiving this in- formation, the student will receive their Cat Card and their fall schedule of courses. Students are asked to make sure their Cat Card works, if there is any issues with it, like name misprint or not accessing the resi- dential dorms, then please take if to OneStop services. According to the Division of Student Affairs, each Cat Card is used for entering dorms, dining hal] services, and is their school identification card. Now that each student has his or her Cat Card, they will go to Residential Living, where upon arrival each student will be able to park along the sidewalk to un- load. Dont worry parents; there will be EESbIe to assist with move in. But before unloading, you must go into the registration table and check out your dorm key(s). Dont lose this key, for there can be fees added to your student account, if lost. After receiving dorm key(s), students will be able to move into your dorm. If students are unhappy with their room assign- ment, Residential Living does allow students to change. rooms. This can only occur after an initial two week period. A room change can be made on different stances whether it is medical, or the room- mates do not live well together. This process goes through Residential Living, located on the first floor of Scott Hall. All information about this process can be found through Residential eee Ss webpage locat- ed on WCUs website. Now that you know where you are living, there are some essentials that you need to remember to pack. Tammy Haskett, Director of Orientation Programs, supplied a wonderful list of things to remember. She stated, [It] varies by assignments but storage bins, power strips, Ethernet cable, possibly a small print- er, locking device for their laptops, command strips, trash cans and if you are in a residence hall with pri- vate or shared baths (unlike Scott, Walker, Buchan- an with community baths) you will need cleaning supplies to keep your bathrooms clean in addition to cleaning suppliak for their rooms like a broom, vacu-. um cleaner, etc. When it comes to living in a dorm where you can possibly share everything from a kitchen to a bath- room Haskett suggests, If you make a mess clean it up. As for sharing a kitchen she says Even though you may have a kitchen, you are still required to have a meal plan when living on campus. It is suggested if your share a kitchen that you label your food and try to keep as much in your room as possible. Haskett also gave amazing advice for living with others; she said put down your computers and cell phones and talk directly to you roommate(s) ~ set down some ground rules. As move-in comes to a close there are many things you will need to do. Haskett expresses that following move-in you will need:to report to the Ramsey Cen-. ter for Freshman Convocation, followed by the class photo, and first night activities. On Saturday, you will have Freshman Assembly and Valley Ballyhoo and you need to be looking for the Week of Welcome events. Your second priority after moving in is to collect . store! your rental books:from the bookstore. The Bookstore at WCU is not just a place to get your books but a place to find anything you have forgotten or need for your classes. Haskett states, You can pick up your ook you may have supplement texts or other supplies like art supplies or lab instruments you will need to purchase for some of your classes and can use financial aid to purchase them during their first week of classes. Of course you need you WCU logo items from the book- store and Catamount Clothing and Gifts we dont want to see any of that other school stuff! So, how exactly do you go about renting your books and gathering your supplies? Christine Fisher, Book Rental Manager, stated. Students can access our website at books.wcu.edu and from there can click on the WCU Bookstore Home link. After they gain access to the site if you click Textbook Rentals then scroll to the bottom and click New Students there is a page that outlines ev- erything new students need to know about the book- ?? Each student will have time to get books and school supplies at the bookstore during the designated hours starting Wednesday, August 13 at 8 a.m.-5 p.m., which is the first day to pick up rental books. The hours for the Bookstore are posted are their website. It is advised to get there early to get a spot in line to. receive rental books; this process can get crazy since all students will be trying to get all supplies for cours- : es during this time period. Make sure that you have your Cat Card in hand, and a backpack to carry all supplies. The bookstore provides all school supplies like pa- per and pencils, with some additional items such as dorm room decorations, specific class supplies, and additional course textbooks that may not be given during rental pick-up as well as WCU Pride Gear. Stu- dents will be able to use their financial aid up until August 23. _ When you go to rent your books you need to make sure that you have your Cat Card. If you do not have your Cat Card you can get it at One Stop which is lo- cated in the Killian Annex Building (ext to Forsyth and behind Coulter). One Stop, like its name suggests, is a place where many things happen. According to their website they host the Financial Aid Office, Reg- istrars Office, and the Student Accounts Office. Their website is extremely helpful and is user friendly! It can be accessed at wcu.edu/current-students/. While living on campus, each student will have a mail box located in to University Center. The mail room is open Monday Friday from 10:30am-5pm, closed weekends. Students must go to the mailroom with Cat Card to receive your mailbox key and suite box number. The mailroom advises to try your key out before leaving, in case there are any issues with the key. This key must returned at the end of the spring se- mester before leaving for summer break, Aside from receiving keys and getting moved in, there will be many events on campus for new students to take part in to get them acclimated to college life. There will be Freshmen Convocation on Friday, August 15th in the Ramsey Center. Students will be greeted by many of the staff mem- ber of WCU and get to hear the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band rally for the beginning of the semes- ter. At the end of Convocation, the freshmen will take their class picture out on the football field and will receive a free t-shirt to wear for that occasion. The picture will be printed and will be available later in the semester. Along with the freshmen picture, at the first football game, all freshmen are welcome to participate in the freshmen run during the pregame performance by the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band. Beside Hraehiast Convocation, there will be many opportunities for students to get involved on campus. On Saturday, August 16th from 4-6 p.m. in the cen- ter of campus, differentstudent organizations and community vendors will be to share information and giveaways to all students. This is an opportunity for freshmen to meet other students on campus along with finding possible organizations to get involved with. All freshmen students are invited to look into Western Peaks, First Year Experience; this group helps with getting students involved and acclimated to college life. They hold several events throughout the semester which will be announced at a later date. Many students wonder what they are supposed to do when they are sick or need assistance. Student Health Services is a great resource on campus. Haskett supplied, For on-campus emergencies they need to dial 828-227-8911 or 828-227-7301, they can go online at www.studenthealth.wcu.edu to make ap- Photo by Ceillie Simkiss/STAFF pointments, they can call 828-227-7640 to talk to someone by phone and after hours they can call the nurse line at 866-315-8756. Arika Morrison, a counselor in Counseling & Psy- chological Services, stated Students can access WCU Counseling & Psychological Services in 225 Bird Building during our walk-in process to initi- ate services which is available Monday-Friday from lpm-3pm (*must arrive no later than 2:15 to complete paperwork). If unable to come during that time we can schedule an appointment if needed. These brief sessions are on a first-come, first-serve basis and stu- dents should plan to arrive early to complete paper- work. Please check out our website (counselingcenter. wceu.edu) or call 828-227-7469 for more information. Another great resource for students is the library. When posed with what the library has to offer for students Haskett responded, In addition to the re- search librarians available to work with them, we have the ABC Express and an interlibrary loan sys- tem to request books/articles from other libraries, there are single and group study areas available, wifi, the Technology Commons is available on the ground floor of the library open the same hours as the library for assistance with computer software/hardware is- sues, they will assist students in preparing class pre- sentations. Lastly, the Department of Student Community Eth- ics website is a great resource for students who are looking to understand the Code of Student Conduct. The department is defined, according to their website, as The Department of Student Community Ethics administers the student conduct process for Western Carolina and works to support an honest and respon- sible community. Student Community Ethics strives to adjudicate cases of alleged misconduct in a fair, responsible and timely manner emphasizing WCUs core values of respect, trust and integrity. As well as being used to access the Code of Student Conduct their web page also outlines the Academ- ic Integrity Policy, Student Conduct Process, Party Smart, Leadership Opportunities for Students, and Definitions of Sanctions. You can contact the Department of Stu- dent Community Ethics by phone 828-227-7234. In addition to these resources the university also hosts programs and activities so that all of its stu- dents have the opportunity to get involved in various ways. The First Year Experience or FYE There are specific activities that are founded to help freshmen make the transition into the university. Glenda Hensley, Director of the First Year Pro- gram, stated Beginning with the Bookmark Journey in their FYE Transition course, students will learn to navigate the university to find the places they need to know about with services and resources includ- ing 15 different campus locations (such as the WaLC, CRC, and MHC - for example). Our first-year students all have the opportunity to enroll in a FYE Transition course and these classes are key to their success in the first semester, as they will introduce students to the academic and procedural elements of college, as well as other aspects that will support their successful transition to being a college student. But the help doesnt stop there, Hensley went on to say, After 5th week, we have WHEE Call U - an initiative in which every single first-year student is contacted personally with a phone call from a mem- ber of WCU faculty, staff, administration, and student leaders. We are eager to make sure they are settling in well and to offer help if needed. This isnt just a first semester occurrence. Hensley supplied that the Freshmen Year Experience holds emphasis on the entire year. She affirmed, As we look at spring semester, students will have the oppor- tunity to participate in EYE on FYE a contest that invites their creative entries to address the theme of the year this years theme is Connect the Dots. You may learn more about this on the FYE website. Then we host an end-of-year celebration to honor their ac- complishments and to also allow them to nominate a, special faculty or staff member as their choice for the FYE Advocate award, presented to a faculty or staff member based on nominations/votes from first-year students. Your first year in college can be exciting and un- nerving at the same time, but WCU works to make it one of the best experiences of your life. If you have any questions or concerns contact the WCU First Year Experience at wcu.edu/about-wceu/leadership/ office-of-the-provost/ugstudies/first-year-experi- ence/index.asp or by phone 828-227-3017.

The Western Carolinian is Western Carolina University's student-run newspaper. The paper was published as the Cullowhee Yodel from 1924 to 1931 before changing its name to The Western Carolinian in 1933.

• Creator
  • Western Carolina University
• Format
  • Publications (documents)
  • Text
• Type
  • Text
• Date
  • Date original: 2014-08-15
• Extent
  • Dimension: 22.75" x 11.5"
  • Pages: 12
• Subject - Topic
  • College student newspapers and periodicals
  • Cullowhee (N.C.) -- Newspapers
  • Universities and colleges -- North Carolina -- Cullowhee -- Newspapers
  • Western Carolina University -- Periodicals
• Location
  • Jackson County (N.C.)
  • Cullowhee (N.C.)
• Source institution
  • Western Carolina University
• Source Collection
  • WCU Students Newspapers Collection
• Identifier
  • HL_WesternCarolinian_2014-08-15_Vol80_No01
• Repository
  • Western Carolina University Hunter Library