Sounds of a New Start

The rumble of yellow move-in carts, the cheers from the stands at Maryland Stadium and the fanfare of the marching band rehearsing its pregame present provided an upbeat soundtrack of Fall Welcome Weekend on the College of Maryland.

In vehicles and SUVs filled with their still-in-the-wrapper gear, over 4,700 freshmen—and hundreds of different college students—and their households arrived on campus over the previous few days to start the educational yr and get to know the campus, and one another.

On the New Pupil Welcome picnic on Friday night, President Darryll J. Pines suggested Terps to “rise up and be counted” over the following 4 years.

“Take the lessons that can problem your preconceptions and develop your perspective. Be part of a pupil group and make your voice heard. Present as much as athletics occasions and humanities performances and cheer in your friends. Wander our campus, discover Higher School Park and Washington, D.C., and all the time say hiya to the strangers who might sooner or later flip into your lifelong associates,” he stated.

On Thursday and Friday, college students transferring into residence halls overcame the steamy warmth, crowds, site visitors and the jitters, pumped up with hope and pleasure to start a brand new journey at Maryland. Close to the brand new Heritage Group, College of Maryland police directed automobiles into orderly rows for unloading, pupil volunteers distributed chilled water bottles and hits like “Day ‘N’ Nite” by Child Cudi and “Replay” by lyaz created a festive environment.

One of many dad and mom getting ready to say goodbye was Carey Reise, of Bel Air, Md., whose oldest son Tyler, a studio arts main, was transferring into Pyon-Chen Corridor. “I believe he’s utterly prepared. That is the following part and honestly–‘excited,’ that’s the most effective phrase I’ve,” she stated as she headed to the brand new Yahentamitsi Eating Corridor for lunch along with her husband and youthful son.

Maryland Athletics welcomed college students to cheer on the Terps at males’s soccer, volleyball and area hockey video games, whereas the Division of Resident Life, Division of Pupil Affairs organized dozens of occasions all weekend. These ranged from the casual—open recreation on the Outside Aquatics Middle, films on the Hoff Theater, billiards and bowling at TerpZone and midnight Frisbee on McKeldin Mall—to formal gatherings for cultural teams, Pupil Leisure Occasions’ Moonlit Music Live performance and FreeFest.

The Saturday occasion on the Mall was filled with giveaways, enjoyable actions and details about assets at UMD. Freshman mechanical engineering main Michael O’Neill walked down the steps of ODK Fountain with a bag of swag and surveyed the panorama round him. “It’s huge,” stated O’Neill, a member of the Clark Students Program. “Thirty thousand undergraduate college students feels like rather a lot, and you then see it in individual. It’s rather a lot to absorb.”

It might be large, however Patty Perillo, vice chairman for pupil affairs, promised it could be a nurturing atmosphere as properly.

“In the event you hear nothing else I say to you tonight, I would like you to recollect this: It is a campus group that cares deeply about you,” she stated Friday at New Pupil Welcome. “I care about you. We’re dedicated to your success, and we’ll do all that we will to create the situations so that you can attain your full potential. We wish each Terp to thrive!”

Dylan Manfre M.Jour. ’23 and Mayu Mishina contributed to this text.