VIDEO: UC Freshmen Get a Preview of Your Class Banner

Convocation Webcast available Sept. 16

The crowds on campus for the University of Cincinnati Freshman Convocation Ceremony are expected to resemble the crowds that flock to campus for UC’s Commencement ceremonies. Convocation – UC’s formal induction ceremony for new students – takes place at 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 16, in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center (doors open at 12:30 p.m.). The wave of campus visitors will reflect a projected record number of freshmen for the Uptown Campus – more than 4,000 new students – along with their family members attending the ceremony.

UC President Nancy L. Zimpher will lead the UC community in this formal welcome, which is also attended by UC faculty and administrators in their full academic regalia.

The 2007 freshman class will be addressed by LisaMarie Luccioni, adjunct associate professor for communication. Luccioni, a UC alumna, says her message will reflect on her own experience as a student at UC, as well as her perspective of UC as a member of the faculty for the past 17 years. Other speakers include Ann Welsh, chair of the Faculty Senate, and James Radley, Student Body President.

The freshmen will also be welcomed by the 28 Student Orientation Leaders (SOLs) and five Orientation Coordinators who guided the new students over the summer through Bearcat Bound Orientation. Last week, the SOLs got to work on assembling the freshman class banner that is raised at Convocation. The banner links the flags that the freshmen made at Orientation to depict their impression of UC’s Just Community – an initiative to practice civility and social action.

Assembling the class banner, featured in the video above, is a lengthy job. Sarah Leggesse, director of Orientation Services, says it takes the SOLs as long as 10 hours to use awls and zip-ties to fasten the 208 flags created by the freshmen into one 48-foot-by 48-foot banner that is raised at the end of the Convocation Ceremony. The video in this report shows the SOLs working on the banner last week in University Pavilion.

Convocation Reminders for UC Faculty & Staff

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