Occidental College’s new Class of 2030 first-year students and new transfer students kickstarted their Oxy journey with an enthusiastic welcome from the Oxy community.
On Move-In Day, August 17, new students and their families arrived on campus under bright blue skies, welcomed by joyful cheers and help from Oxy’s O-Team of New Student Orientation student leaders.
New students excitedly met their roommates in person, started to decorate their residence hall rooms, and explored their new Oxy home. Incoming new international students first met staff, student leaders, and other global tigers a few days earlier.
On the evening of Move-In Day, everyone gathered at Remsen Bird Hillside Theater for Welcome to Oxy! A Community Celebration. The gathering—chock full of Oxy spirit—jumpstarted a busy week of Orientation events that included an Academic Fair, Sweet Sendoffs with parents, and lunches for first-generation and veteran students.
Incoming students were treated to a screening of the 1995 movie Clueless, portions of which were filmed at Oxy, at nearby Los Angeles film space Vidiots. They also had the opportunity to explore the vibrancy of L.A. through excursions led by LA Engage, a program of Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement (SLICE). Outings included cheering on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium; visiting the Getty Villa, Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach, and Venice Canals; and experiencing a live planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory.
For Oxy’s Convocation ceremony on August 24, the day before the first day of classes, members of L.A.’s Taiko Project pounded on drums to lead a procession of faculty, administration, staff, and Board of Trustees members, along with Class of 2030 students and new transfer students, into Thorne Hall. The tradition marks the official start of the academic year and welcomes the new class.
During the ceremony, Oxy’s Glee Club filled the hall with beautiful voices and performed the powerful civil rights anthem “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize,” also known as “Hold On,” and Oxy’s traditional alma mater song “Occidental Fair.”
“I want you to feel empowered to help create and sustain a campus environment characterized by a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation, grounded in our shared values of trust, integrity, discipline, selflessness, and hard work,” said President Tom Stritikus to students during his Convocation welcome remarks, followed by remarks by Board of Trustees Chair Art Peck ’77 P’10 P’14, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Angie Bos, and Vice President for Community and Equity Warren Anderson.
During her Convocation speech, Associated Students of Occidental College (ASOC) President Trisha Bhina '27 encouraged students to build community.
“Every single person you meet here has lived a life you haven’t and has something to teach you if you are willing to listen for it,” Bhima said. “That kind of exposure—real, sustained, unavoidable exposure to people unlike you—is one of the rarest and most valuable things college can give a person, and most people don't get nearly enough of it after graduation. You have it in abundance right now. Use it while it's here.”
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