Bearcat Bound Orientation Begins on June 30

Orientation Web site

Orientation Phone number: 513-556-2486

UC’s newest students are about to get an introduction to their college, register for classes and take care of the business of being a student. Their parents are about to discover how to stay involved as their student adjusts to the new independence of college. The University of Cincinnati’s two-day Bearcat Bound Orientation begins on June 30 and runs through Aug. 7. Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m., Monday, June 30, in the Visitors Center on the third floor of University Pavilion.

UC is expecting a freshman class for the Uptown Campus that numbers close to last fall’s record class of more than 5,000 – a class that’s even more academically prepared than last year’s freshman class, which held a record high ACT test score average.

The students and their parents will be guided through Orientation by 31 Student Orientation Leaders (SOLs) – UC upperclassmen who are called the “soul” of orientation, as they share their own perspective of the UC student experience with the new students and their parents. The SOLs were selected from 150 applicants and spent several weeks preparing for their summer job, a regimen that included a workout with UC’s ROTC cadets on the soccer field in UC’s Gettler Stadium.

The workout will have the SOLs ready to give the students a rousing greeting as students enter the welcome session in the Great Hall. The welcome session takes place during the first day of orientation at 12:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of Tangeman University Center (TUC). Each welcome session will feature a college dean who will share what families should explore during orientation and the weeks leading to the start of fall quarter on Sept. 24. Valerie Gray Hardcastle, dean of the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), will be the featured dean at the June 30 welcome session.

During the second day of orientation, freshmen will divide into small groups as they design flags that depict their vision of a Just Community, a university-wide initiative that emphasizes the ideals of justice, civility, learning and scholarship. The Just Community sessions take place from 8-8:45 a.m. on day two of orientation (beginning July 1) in 12 rooms on the fourth floor of TUC.

In that Just Community spirit, UC’s newest Bearcats are invited to take part in the first Bearcat Bound Orientation canned food drive. Students are encouraged to bring a canned or non-perishable food item when they check in at the Visitors Center, where decorated barrels will serve as collection points. Donations will be delivered to Matthew 25 Ministries, an international humanitarian relief organization based in Cincinnati and founded by UC alumnus Wendell Mettey.

The new students will also get a lesson on going green, as they take part in a pilot program when they dine at UC’s residential restaurant, MarketPointe@Siddall. University Dining Services is promoting going tray-less this summer at the all-you-care-to-eat restaurant to cut back on food waste and to conserve water and energy. Trays will be available on request. University Dining Services first promoted going tray-less during the week that celebrated Earth Day last April.