Today and tomorrow are move-in days for freshman at residences halls on the U-of-M Twin Cities campus. “Welcome Week” activities begin Wednesday for 58-hundred students, says Orientation Director Beth Lingren Clark. She says it’s designed to “help students create a sense of belonging, have that confidence in navigating campus and resources before classes begin, and of course meet a lot of people.” There are also “Welcome Week” activities for about two-thousand new transfer students, plus what officials term “enhancing experiences” for students living off-campus.
Lingren Clark says in addition to academic advice and other help, orientation leaders will stress common-sense safety precautions for students, including “not walking alone at night, being aware of their surroundings, not having earbuds in when they’re walking, really being alert, looking out for one another. If they see something suspicious, they need to say something to someone.” There have been a number of robberies and some assaults on or near the U-of-M’s Minneapolis campus over the past few years. Most recent is a fatal stabbing last week, but police say the attacker knew his victim.
Here’s the complete interview: