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BY ANNA SAGASER

In print | Published September 10, 2009

Just one and a half weeks ago, the majority of first-year students stepped onto the Swarthmore campus as “Swatties” for the first time.

I, like many others, arrived in a car packed full with suitcases and duffel bags, while other students flew into the Philadelphia Airport from all over the country and the world.

Cicadas buzzed, and younger siblings watched Move-In Day unfold as teams of Campus Advisors whisked students’ belongings to their new dorm rooms in giant shopping carts.

The campus bookstore made a small fortune selling the wastepaper baskets and shower caddies that students had forgotten to bring and families flocked to Parrish Beach, the main green, to have their picture taken atop “the giant white chair.”

Though each of us new Swatties has come from an entirely unique background and high school, it became clear around the time of First Collection that the first-year students had more in common than being slightly nervous and not knowing the names of any of the buildings. Each of us was about to embark on his or her college journey, about to make his or her contributions to the already talented, diverse, curious, thriving community that exists here at Swarthmore.

Most first-years agree that so far things are going well. “I feel pretty welcomed here,” Brian Huser ’13 said. “I don’t feel intimidated to be a freshman on this campus.”

Hannah Martin ’13 explained that “orientation was really helpful,” and that “the transition from high school to college was really smooth.”

Meera Oak ’13 adds, “It seems like we have a lot of free time here. Yet at the same time, the professors make sure that we have enough work to fill all of that time.” Ah, yes. They did mention something during those tours and info sessions about Swarthmore entailing a heavy workload, didn’t they?

When asked what was the best thing that’s happened at Swarthmore so far, Matthew Heck ’13 replied, “I’ve loved everything: the classes, the people and even my CA group.”

As for the worst thing? “Walking back and forth from Mary Lyons when the shuttle service isn’t running,” Heck said.

Another first-year explained that his CA group managed to get stuck in an elevator in Parrish for almost an hour and a half. “It was an experience,” said Seth Udelson ’13, who now knows the Parrish elevator system far too well. Though the fire department was needed to open up the elevator (and the repair costs are estimated to be around $30,000), even the “elevator freshmen” still seem to be enjoying Swarthmore.

I too am a member of the class of 2013, and yes, I suppose that means I’ve had my fair share of comical experiences, even in the first few weeks.

The other morning I called one of my hall mates (someone I did not just meet) the wrong name, and yesterday I walked out of Sharples with a small piece of cake and a fork, only to have to explain why I was bringing the fork back in.

In addition, my cell phone had a near-death experience at breakfast one morning during orientation. It happened to be on the tray when I placed on it the conveyor belt and traveled away from me at a surprisingly swift speed, along with several dirty dishes and a couple of napkins. Fortunately, I managed to do a small leap to the side and snatch my phone back from the Sharpie-decorated tray.
Classes may have only started one week ago, but so far, so good. We’ll let you know how we’re doing after that first paper is assigned.

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