Marking one of the first major milestones of a new student’s University experience, the Opening Convocation and Honor Induction took place Sunday evening on the Lawn. The ceremony formally welcomed the University community’s newest members, bringing together around 4,000 first-year and transfer students.
To many attendees, Convocation was a taste of what will define their time at the University — the feeling of belonging to a larger community. First-year College student Joseph Jackson felt that speeches by University and student leaders served as a reminder that they are now active members of an institution built on a tradition of student self-governance, introduced through addresses from the Student Council president, the chair of the Honor Committee and the chair of the University Judiciary Committee.
Starting around 6 p.m., new students began filing into seats lined up on the Lawn, facing the Rotunda. They waited attentively as University and student leaders walked onto the stage in traditional academic robes, accompanied by the chorus of University Singers performing “Gaudeamus Igitur.” When the music subsided, Brie Gertler, interim executive vice president and provost, introduced University President Scott Beardsley…