Students arriving at KU this week / LJWorld.com

Kansas University’s annual rite of welcoming old and new students to campus will reach a crescendo on Friday as residence halls and scholarship halls open at 8 a.m.

And as new students arrive, they’ll be greeted by a beefed-up slate of activities and a new group of upperclassmen student staffers to help them get acclimated.

“The first six weeks are very important to a student’s retention and happiness,” said Christina Kerns, program coordinator for KU’s new Office of First-Year Experience, who is leading Hawk Week activities this year.

She said to look for an increased emphasis on academics this year, as KU focuses on retaining students after their first year and ensuring they graduate in four years.

Students in the residence halls will begin discussing Eula Biss’ “Notes From No Man’s Land” soon after arriving. The collection of essays is the first selection in a new common book program for all KU freshmen. About 110 upperclassmen will serve as Hawk Week leaders, encouraging new students to attend the variety of programs in the week.

During the opening convocation ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m. Sunday at the Lied Center, students will be given tassels with their graduation year on them, Kerns said.

But first comes Friday, when shopping for housewares becomes something like an Olympic sport.

And Lawrence residents should expect heavy traffic around campus Friday. KU spokeswoman Jill Jess outlined the intersections likely to be busiest:

• Three Daisy Hill locations: 15th and Iowa streets, 15th Street and Engel Road and Irving Hill and Engel roads

• Near Oliver Residence Hall at 19th Street and Naismith Drive

• Near GSP and Corbin residence halls at 11th and Louisiana streets

Some of the old Hawk Week standbys will remain mostly unchanged from previous years, Kerns said, including the annual Traditions Night, where new students can break out their best Rock Chalk Chants. That event is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday at Memorial Stadium, and will be followed by an outdoor concert at the nearby Campanile.

A complete schedule of activities is available online at hawkweek.ku.edu.

The first day of KU classes is Monday.

kernal 4 years, 1 month ago

It's that time of year again when we need to be extra patient with the student drivers, some who have never driven until this week. They'll be running stop signs blocked by tree branches, going the wrong way down one way streets, stopping in the middle of the street because they're lost, turning left on a red light from a one way street onto a two way street, walking against a red light without even looking before they cross the street.....

Eeeek!

MarcoPogo 4 years, 1 month ago

Most of your post is correct except that "we need to be extra patient with the student drivers" They need to pull their heads out of their Corinthian leather butt seats and pay a little attention.

Yeah, asking people to follow the most basic traffic signs and procedures makes one a regular ol' Mr. Wilson.

It doesn't matter how new you may be to a town - you should still be expected to follow the meaning of a "One Way" sign; you should still know not to slam on your brakes in the middle of a busy street because you see a shiny CVS on the other side of the traffic island; you should still be able to take the hint of the guardrails on Engel Road so that you don't go cartwheeling down into the West Hills Apartments.

This is not a "patience" issue; it's about safety. Nobody's a perfect driver but if the annual newbies paid a little more attention, we'd avoid some pretty avoidable road dangers.

Emery Road, not Engel. Different obstacle course. :)

True, but I was responding to the subject of the new-to-town student drivers.

George_Braziller 4 years, 1 month ago

It's dodge ball already on the street. Buffy and Justin are weaving in and out of traffic to get one vehicle ahead before sitting at the stoplight.

Jean Robart 4 years, 1 month ago

You mean they're not already back? There are many more screwy drivers around than even a week or so ago. This is not a fun time to be a full time Lawrence resident. Come quickly December!

Jeremiah Jefferson 4 years, 1 month ago

I love when the students come back. They bring alot of work to the body shops in Lawrence. If the insurance don't pay, mom and dad always foot the bill... KU students and hit & runs go hand in hand lol.. I can't tell you how many cars I see with half a bottle of booze and or half a case of beer in the trunk, not to mention the not so hidden pot pipes. Atleast they get one thing right, they keep the alcohol in the trunk. Get alot of work off Kentucky and Tennessee street too lol.. If its not a wreck, its because some drunken student couldn't keep from throwing his or her body into a car or walking across the top... Yep, Ku students, gota love em. They are a gold mine for 9 months out of the year.

SeaBee 4 years, 1 month ago

Aaahh, Hawk week.

Early 70's and school concerns would wait a week.

Could drink beer at 18 - the Bierstube, the Hawk, the Wheel, Mothery Mary's (if you had a car), the Sanctuary if you could stand the frats , less stringent DWI criteria! Walk to the armory for a dance and keggar - try and beg a ride back.

Those were the days of youth and reckless abandon.

Meant Country club week.

Sorry.

begin60 4 years, 1 month ago

My thoughts on the "helpful" students and residents of Lawrence who are too busy patting themselves on the back for how charitable they are and too brainwashed by unconscious stereotypes to realize they are scaring the living pudding out of those they randomly and aggressively approach on the streets:

See above: parable of "The Helper" :Some fences decent people do not bound. by begin60

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