Published: August 14, 2008 11:07 pm            

New students storm UCO

EDMOND — The halls of the Nigh University Center were full of new faces as students attended New Student Orientation 2008 Thursday at the University of Central Oklahoma.

Amaza Withington, a freshman, said she chose to attend orientation, which is not required, because she wanted to meet people.

“I feel a lot more comfortable walking to class seeing familar faces,” she said.

Withington said she was scared when she arrived at orientation, but her group leaders created a comfortable atmosphere.

Austin Harrison, a freshman, said he really likes UCO and had a great time at orientation.

“I have a few cousins that went here and Edmond is a fun town,” he said.

The purpose of orientation is to help bring students to campus and introduce them to all the resources UCO has to offer, said Kay Robinson, director of campus activities and events. She said 1,100 students registered for orientation this year.

“Orien-tation helps with retention. It has been shown that students who attend orientation connect on campus.

If they become connected with people right away, they will stay,” Robinson said.

Students learned about campus resources, played team building games, and met faculty and leading groups on campus, including cheerleaders and the Old Blue Crew. Students also learned about academic dishonesty and student conduct.

“You have the responsibility to be an ambassador for UCO,” Chris Snoody, director of student conduct, told students. “Nobody can set your priorities but you.”

Beth Allan with the Department of Biology informed students about TurnItIn.com. She said the program not only identifies plagiarism, but also can check to see if a given assignment has been turned in by an individual more than once.

“I would encourage you to find out the rules and talk to your professors,” Walker said.

UCO’s 2008 fall semester begins Monday and about 16,000 students are expected to attend the university.

        

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