Newsroom
Welcome Occidental Class of 2013
Orientation for the Occidental Class of 2013 – expected to be the largest first-year class in Occidental history -- begins Saturday, Aug. 29, with student and parent check-in at Lower Herrick Chapel starting at 7:30 a.m. A full schedule is available here.
Hot temperatures are an Orientation tradition, and this year is no exception – today’s forecast calls for temperatures in the high 90s over the weekend. Occidental will literally be one of the hottest colleges in the country for Orientation, so students and families are urged to plan accordingly. Ice water will be available in all first-year residence halls, and Taylor Pool will be open from noon to 7 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Brush fires in the San Gabriel Mountains about 10 miles north of campus are generating considerable quantities of smoke. Although the fires are too far away to pose any threat to the Occidental campus (Oxy has never been threatened by a major brush fire), they have affected local air quality. Some outdoor athletic practices have been cancelled, and some adjustments to the Orientation schedule have been made.
We will be providing as much indoor seating as possible for lunch on Saturday, which ordinarily is held outdoors under the oak trees in the Academic Quad. Buffet lunch service on Branca Patio in the Johnson Student Center will start at 11:30 a.m., a half-hour earlier than originally scheduled, to make it easier to accommodate students and families.