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Free Press witnesses an Orientation to remember

I’ve been back on the Hill for nearly two weeks now, and boy have I been busy! I got to move in about a week earlier than most students so I could help the McDaniel Free Press, our student newspaper. We got permission to come back early so we could get a jump start on our year and so we could cover First Year Orientation.

Because I’m the web editor for the Free Press this year, much of my work throughout the week consisted of tweeting, making Facebook posts, and putting content on our website, mcdanielfreepress.com. I particularly underestimated how much time I would end up spending on Twitter, writing our own tweets, retweeting others, and finding and following new students–many of whom followed back in turn!

When the first day of Orientation finally arrived, Free Press Orientation team and I set out to first year residence halls with cameras and smartphones so we could take pictures of the day. Between the four of us, we captured hundreds of photos of students moving in, students meeting with their First Year Seminar classes, and Convocation–a ceremony for matriculating students to mark the beginning of their time at college and a ceremony that I had a fun time live-tweeting this year.

Students of the First Year Seminar “Religion and the Earth” meet for the first time before Convocation.

After Convocation, I was all set to take some pictures of students ringing Old Main Bell and saying farewell to their families. Traditionally, new students ring the bell in the afternoon, immediately after Convocation, to symbolize their start at McDaniel College. (When they graduate, they get to ring it again!) However, just as the new first year students were set to leave the gym, it began to rain, so the bell ceremony was postponed to the evening, after the Out of the Darkness, Into the Light candle walk, another ceremony, symbolic of receiving a liberal arts education. It seemed a little sad that parents wouldn’t be able to see their new college students ring the bell. When I was a first year student, my parents got a wonderful picture of me ringing the bell, and it’s something I treasure.

Here I am "ringing in" my time at McDaniel, on my first day of Orientation, back in 2011.

Here I am “ringing in” my time at McDaniel, on my first day of Orientation, back in 2011.

However, things ended up working out this year after all. For the first time ever, McDaniel first year students got to ring the bell at night, and it was a thrill to watch. The evening was beautiful, with the temperature being not too hot and not too cool, and all the students–the first year students ringing in and the peer mentors and RAs cheering them on–were electric, their noise strongly competing with that of the bell.

I enjoyed watching the nighttime bell ringing so much that I wrote a Free Press article about it. Because it’s about such a magical night and because I was able to get some comments from McDaniel’s president, it’s one of my favorite articles I’ve ever written–I hope you’ll read it and experience some of the magic of the night for yourself.

Here’s a student from McDaniel’s new class of 2018 ringing in at night, assisted by McDaniel President Dr. Roger Casey.

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