Campus buzz returns as UC students experience their first week

Near perfect weather has provided a great backdrop for new and returning students as they’ve moved into campus residence halls, enjoyed welcome back activities and checked out what student organizations have to offer at the University of Cincinnati.

About 7,400 students will be living in Uptown campus residence halls at UC, says Carl Dieso, assistant vice president, campus services, housing, parking and transportation services.

He spoke with Local 12, WLWT and WVXU during move-in day for first-year students.

“We get one chance to make a first impression from a housing perspective,” explains Dieso. “We want to get it right for everybody.”.

UC is expecting to enroll 9,700 first-year students across all three of its campuses: Uptown, Blue Ash and Clermont, explains Jack Miner, vice provost for enrollment management. 

“Not only is that an increase of 1,000 students over last year’s freshman class but is also one of the largest increases in the country,” adds Miner.

Dieso says the momentum at UC remains amazing. “People continue to say, ‘I want to be a Bearcat,’ he explains during an interview with WVXU.

He cited Welcome Week activities as an important way to help new students adjust and find community on campus. Campus departments and organizations sponsored a host of activities: everything from a Grocery Bingo night to a BBQ American Style event for international students to a commuter students meet and greet event.

Bearcats Kickoff held Thursday, Aug. 20, allowed incoming students to come together in Nippert Stadium for a class photo along with performances from the UC Band, UC Dance Team and UC Cheerleaders. They also got a chance to enjoy inflatables, food trucks, games and fireworks in nearby Sigma Sigma Commons. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Shakespeare in the Park series performed “Much Ado About Nothing” one evening in Bearcats Commons. 

“This is when the campus comes alive,” says Dieso. “If you were here just a couple of weeks ago, it was eerily quiet. Everyone was away, and then poof, we are back in action and people are playing frisbee on the green and the recreation center is busy and folks are in the dining center eating. The libraries are busy again.”

Parents parked cars, loaded hand trucks with boxes and other gear while students fussed with essential items they needed to create a home away from home during move-in week at UC.

Furnishing new digs could get tedious but also expensive. That’s why an effort known as Thrifty Move-In continues to thrive and is in its third year. 

Spearheaded by the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, the event was held Saturday, Aug. 22, in the atrium of the Lindner College of Business to make lightly used appliances, utensils, cookware, furniture and other items available to students for free. 

Cleaning supplies were also made available and a shuttle was on hand to take students to IKEA to look for additional items. Students participating got a 15% discount on IKEA items. DiBella generously provided 500 boxed lunches to participants.

“We distributed all collected and purchased goods to more than 300 students, and over 270 students participated in the IKEA trip,” explains Stacey Jenkins, event organizer and graduate student success program manager in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services.

WLWT and WCPO interviewed Jenkins and student participants at the event.

Other partners in Thrifty Move-In included Lindner College of Business; the College of Engineering and Applied Science; UC International; the Graduate College; Residential Education and Development Office; IKEA; the UC Center for Student Engagement/Bearcats Welcome; RED; CECH IMPACT; the Office of Sustainability; and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.

Jenkins says the event met its goals: reducing student stress, salvaging and redistributing useful goods, and decreasing or eliminating unmet needs among UC students.

Dove Miller, a student orientation leader, says she advises incoming students to get involved with UC campus life as soon they find something of interest. The fourth-year social work student says it is also a great way to meet people.

“Don't be afraid to branch out,” adds Miller. “I was so scared to leave the friend group I came to college with that I missed out on a lot of meaningful relationships that I wish I had built sooner. You never know how much of an impact someone can have on your life down the road.”

Activities like the Involvement Fair offer a chance for students to connect with organizations on campus and off campus.  The event is held during the fall and spring — the most recent was held Friday, Aug. 21 — and is hosted by the UC Student Activities Board and the Center for Student Involvement.

The most recent fair attracted 450 student and community organizations to Nippert Stadium along with more than a thousand student participants. It offered a chance to build community and for students to create families away from home, says Asfand Khan, president of the UC Student Activities Board.

Many incoming students can feel intimidated on a large urban campus. “The students who feel overwhelmed, that’s our audience, and it’s our job to help them find a home by promoting these student organizations,” adds Khan.

He says the Involvement Fair is a chance for students to create new interests and make new connections. The organizations can appeal to students’ academic interests,  political leanings, desire for community service or a need just to have fun.

“There are so many random niche organizations that you can find at UC,” says Khan. “One of the benefits of hosting the fair is you get to see the heart of people behind these organizations and there is so much more than just shared interests.”

Featured top image of a UC parent moving essentials into a campus residence hall.  Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Brand.