Freshman Follies Tug-of-War Competition
Freshman Follies Give Way to First Day of Classes
Erskine College opened its 162nd year today with students attending the first day of classes for fall semester 2000.
Seniors focusing on their final year joined freshmen getting their first real taste of college life, and Erskine President Dr. John Carson proclaimed, "This is going to be a fine year for Erskine."
Carson said he knew last week when Student Life Assistants arrived on campus early for orientation that this was going to be a special year in Due West.
"I saw how much these students enjoyed simply being with one another," Carson said. "When they told about where they had been and what they had learned over the summer, I was deeply moved.
"When upperclassmen showed up en masse to help the freshmen move in, and then served them at the Soiree, the Erskine spirit was in full flame," Carson said.
"When so many parents and freshmen expressed appreciation and confidence in Erskine, I knew this was a great new class," he said.
Carson said he received a similar sensation from the faculty.
"When new faculty members met one another for orientation and then met their senior colleagues for the first faculty meeting, I could sense a common joy in having the opportunity to teach — they were ready to start the year," he said.
Dr. Donald Weatherman, Vice President and Dean of the college, has been working with the faculty in preparation for the new year.
"In the final analysis, the academy has two primary functions: they are to advance and transfer knowledge," said Weatherman. "The opening of a new academic year is always a kind of reunion – a reunion of learners.
"We tend to distinguish between professional learners, the faculty, and amateur learners, the students," Weatherman said. "The professional learners spend their summers exploring new ideas and theories and then have an opportunity to present them to amateur students for further examination and refinement.
"While the summer activity generally occurs in the solitary confines of faculty labs and offices, the school year moves that activity into the classroom," Weatherman said.
He added, "The annual reunion is always an exhilarating time to renew friendships and rekindle the pursuit of ideas, both of which generate more conversations and work for both groups of learners."
The freshman class ended their week-long orientation program Sunday night with a fresh approach to the Freshman Follies, challenging the returning upperclassmen to several competitions on the stage at Lesesne Auditorium, during a night of fun before classes began this morning.
Upperclassmen, who had been moving in Sunday, usually attend the Freshman Follies for their first exposure to their new classmates. This year, it was an in-your-face experience, as upperclassmen answered the challenge in a pie-eating contest, food-eating contest, and a free-for-all tug-of-war.
Erskine will have an official opening during the first convocation on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 11 a.m. During the Formal Opening, Weatherman will be officially installed as Dean of the College.
