UPDATE: Convocation will be held indoors at 4:00 p.m. in the Pizzitola Sports Center due to inclement weather. New students who wish to walk through the Gates together can do so tomorrow, September 6 at 12:00 p.m. along with President Paxson. Additionally, new students can walk through the Gates tomorrow at their convenience from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. But don’t let the rain get you down; it’s still going to be a great day.

First-years: you’ve survived move-in, pre-registration, and awkward small talk at the Ice Cream Social. Mazel Tov! Now, it’s time to get initiated. Not in some creepy, cultish kind of way (unless you’re into that), but in true Brunonian fashion — by walking through the Van Wickle Gates.

If you ever went on an official tour of campus, you’ve heard the legends surrounding those famed gates: first years enter them during Opening Convocation to mark the beginning of their time on the Hill, and graduates walk out through them onto the streets of Providence to signal their departure. It’s very sentimental, one of those gratuitous Ivy League traditions that comes with the package.

It’s pretty easy to get caught up in it all. There are cameras everywhere, and no one ever really knows where to go. (Pro tip: through the Gates.) Faculty superstars (including Paxson herself) line up on the Quiet Green and sport their alma mater regalia to welcome you. They applaud you as you walk to the Main Green. You! The first-year! Savor that glory now, before those faculty superstars get real around midterms. We can assure you that Opening Convocation will be one of the most memorable moments of your life; check out our ways to make it count after the jump.

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An important part of your freshman year is learning that some things you thought about college were wrong. Your roommate may not become your best buddy, and those parties may not be as fun as they looked on TV (or maybe they were — you can’t remember). And if you think you know what classes you’ll be taking, shopping period begs to differ.

Shopping period is basically Brown’s way of ensuring that you really love all your classes (unless you need to take orgo, in which case… have fun!).  For the next two weeks, you can add and drop courses at your leisure and sit in on as many classes as you’d like.  There are so many classes to choose from that shopping period can seem pretty daunting, but here are some tips to help you make the most of it.

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Freshman orientation should ideally be a time of grace and poise, but this façade is too often lost somewhere between your second and third Karkov-cranberry. So, as you gather with other anxious first-year students from across the globe, what could be more fitting than a tropical themed dance?! “We’re all dressed in silly outfits! Isn’t this like the most fun!  This is just like what I read about!”

An essential stepping stone in the process of initiation into Brown student life, the Annual Freshman Orientation Dance is no time for goofing off, and you better bring your A-game. Although classes haven’t started yet, important life decisions are definitely about to be made. In order to help you kill it, we’ve compiled a helpful list of “Dos and Don’ts” to adhere to so that you can make a stellar first impression on your new peers. Check it out after the jump.

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The Suzuki Method: Funk Edition

A key part of embracing your new identity as a Brown student is learning to love things you never thought you could love: Coffee milk, 9 a.m. section, and snow sculptures, among others. Monday at midnight be prepared to add to that list “crushingly loud organ recitals.” (If you already have that on your list, stop lying, you only wrote that down for your personal essay to get into this place.)  The Sayles organ, a monstrous fell beast of an instrument, was gifted to the university in 1903, and has been rocking the campus during midnight concerts ever since. Played by genius Mark Steinbach, resident Lecturer of Music, Instrument Curator, and University Organist, the primordial pipes and the building that houses them play host to hundreds of blanket clad students every year during a handful of witching-hour performances (the Halloween edition is especially spooky). Bring pillows, bring popcorn, bring your brand-new freshman soul mates (Perkins kids, we’re looking at you) and experience one of Brown’s most unique gatherings. Rumor has it Steinbach will branch out into Hammonds and Moogs next year…

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Now THAT is a scarf.

Every castle must have its king (or queen…or phetriarch…) and Brown, despite its loyalty to free thought and vegan activism, subscribes to that rule.  As the first class to begin Brown in a Ruth-less environment, a key part of your orientation is understanding who will serve as your very own Chancellor Palpatine (we’re talking pre-Naboo crisis Palpatine) throughout the next years of your lives.

With this in mind, do not miss the first freshman address tomorrow afternoon from Christina Paxson, Brown’s newly-appointed 19th president, author of a questionably hilarious study on height, and owner of a kickass shirt design. She’ll be addressing the whole university on Wednesday, but you get VIP access to her at 2 p.m. on the Main Green, during what will hopefully be a classic Rhode Island Sunday afternoon. Do yourself a favor and take a break from comparing Parisian travel plans and SAT Subject Test scores with that guy from Harvard-Westlake and open your ears to a new voice. Will her remarks stray too far from the template set by every university leader throughout recorded history? Probably not. Will she pander to you with some empty-chair performance art? Hopefully. At the very least, consider this: it’s a bonding moment. You’re brand new, she’s brand new. D’awwww.

So, you’ve moved in and unpacked your Tide to go and blue tape. You’ve kicked your parents out of your dorm. You’ve had your first tepid, overly-peppy and accommodating conversation with your roommate. Congratulations on (sort of) starting college! Now it’s time to actually interact with at least a small percentage of the 1,500+ people who are your classmates. Daunting? We know; we’ve all been there.

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We just want you to know that right now is the most exciting moment of your entire life! I mean, this is the type of thing you’d think in a million, billion years is never gonna to happen to you… and even when it does, you still can’t believe it: you’re at orientation. At college, at Brown University. Freshmen, meet BlogDailyHerald. We’ll explain it all.

We all move into our freshman year differently. Maybe you’ve been coordinating a color palate with your roommate, and maybe this is the first time you heard about move-in day. Either way, you probably have some questions. Yeah, there are obviously the essentials — deodorant, socks, and that obligatory college poster — but BlogDH is here to help with those finer details of packing. We hit you with some ideas last year, but after another year of college living, and several more “I wish I hadn’t packed my rice cooker”s, we’ve amended the list so that you’ll never be without your fracket.

Do: Bring Tide to Go. BBQ sauce, beer, blood—you will encounter all of these stains your first semester (maybe even all at once!). You’ll want this to erase what denial and untagging photos on Facebook can’t.

Don’t: Bring cooking supplies. First, I will steal them from you, because I’m still damn bitter you guys get the shiny new kitchens. Second, unless you really, really want to cook, there’s no way you’re going to be making anything practical or worthwhile while in the dorms. Let’s face it—they’re going to be broken in (emphasis on broken) via the drank in your red solo cups. [Read more →]