Haskell enjoying smooth enrollment
Approximately 1,000 students expected for fall semester
William Gilbert missed last fall’s enrollment at Haskell Indian Nations University.
“My Army Reserve unit got called up. We spent a year in Iraq,” said Gilbert, a 23-year-old sophomore from Yates Center.
Stationed near Tikrit, Gilbert said his unit hauled tanks for the Army’s First Infantry Division.
“Seeing all the poverty over there – it gives you a different perspective on things,” he said. “It makes you realize how many opportunities we have back in this country and how you need to take advantage of them while you can.”
Gilbert, a Choctaw, was among the more than 400 returning students who enrolled Monday at Haskell. A few hundred freshmen are expected to enroll today.
“It’s going steady and smooth,” said Haskell registrar Manny King. “We’ve accepted 503 new and transfer students and 704 returning students. Now, we’ll have to wait and see how many are able to make it.”
King said he expects enrollment to level off around 1,000 students.
Haskell Indian Nations University registrar Manny King, right, works with sophomore Leah Elliott, Pawhuska, Okla., to format her schedule of classes for the approaching semester during enrollment on Monday at Navarre Hall.
“There’s a no-show factor of about 23 percent,” King said. Students who enroll late run the risk of being put on a waiting list. Classes start Wednesday.
New and returning Haskell students have been invited to Haskell Highlights Night, an information fair from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight at Navarre Hall. On-campus clubs and community programs will share information on activities and services available in Lawrence.
The university’s fall convocation is set for 4 p.m. next Tuesday at Haskell Auditorium. Biology instructor and Haskell alumna Carole Tomlinson is scheduled to address the assembly.
Haskell’s first football game is Sept. 3 against Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, Neb. The first home game is Sept. 10 against South Dakota Tech.
“We’re going to be better this year than we were last year,” said Gilbert, who’s also a linebacker. “We’ve been doing two-a-days (practices) for about a week now. We’re definitely bigger and faster than we were when I left in November 2003.”
The women’s first volleyball game is a 7 p.m. Friday scrimmage at Coffin Sports Complex. The women’s and men’s cross country teams will compete in the Sept. 3 Bob Timmons Invitational in Lawrence.