Though fall semester classes at Haskell Indian Nations University begin Wednesday, registrar Manny King is wondering who’ll show.

“We’ve got a handful of students who are out fighting fires in Oregon and Idaho. They’re enrolled, but they’re not here, and it’s hard to get through to them,” King said Friday. “I want to keep a place open for them, but I don’t know if they’re still planning on coming.”

Cherie Goodluck, left, a Haskell Indian Nations University junior from Shiprock, N.M., greets freshman Margaret Wilkerson, center, and her parents, Shelby and Gary Wilkerson, Syracuse, N.Y., as Wilkerson prepares to move into Pocahontas Hall. Friday was arrival day for all freshman and transfer students. Returning students arrive on campus Sunday, and Haskell classes start Wednesday.

King will have to decide next week. Budget shortfalls have forced Haskell to limit its fall enrollment to about 1,150 students. If the firefighters don’t show, more than 350 students are in line to take their places.

“I’ve been here 18 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this,” said Ellen Allen, director of admissions and records at Haskell.

King and Allen spent much of Friday welcoming this year’s crop of new and transfer students.

So far, fall enrollment numbers show 680 returning students, 117 former students, 88 transfers and 259 new students.

Almost 200 students and parents gathered Friday afternoon at Haskell Auditorium for a get-acquainted session with administrators and student facilitators.

“Haskell is a lot like life it’ll be what you make it,” said Marvin Buzzard, the university’s vice president in charge of university services.

Lawrence City Commissioner David Dunfield encouraged the group to recognize the parallels between Lawrence’s history as an abolitionist settlement before the onset of the Civil War and Haskell’s evolution from a boarding school bent on homogenizing Indian cultures to a university that promotes diversity.

“Both of us have known the struggle for human liberty and dignity,” Dunfield said. “We’re glad you’re here.”