Published: July 6, 2015

Welcome new students!听

College is an exciting time to meet new people from many backgrounds and different ways of thinking, to learn more about who you are, and to think critically about your long-held beliefs, keeping some and revising others.听

The is here to support you on your journey throughout your college experience. We are proud to serve many diverse communities and their allies on campus and are excited for all of you to join our community. As a cornerstone in realizing our mission of enhancing your success as students, we know we must help to create a safe and inclusive environment where all students act with honor, integrity and accountability, where we respect the rights of others, and we accept our differences and contribute to the greater good of the community.听

We can all practice small gestures of inclusion to make the university community welcoming for all. Challenge yourself to use inclusive language and encourage your friends to do the same. Ask questions about what you don't know and share what you've learned with others.听听听

We all learn and work better in diverse communities. College provides many wonderful opportunities to engage with people different from you, so we hope that you will seek out experiences and events that introduce you to communities and ideas that are new to you. Student Affairs is home to several offices that serve as hubs for identity-based communities and their allies. The , , the , the 听and the 听are a few of the departments that host hundreds of free community-building and educational events where you can enhance your understanding of yourself and others, and expand your personal and academic networks.听 听

We hope to see you at one of the many fall welcome events and activities.

Christina Gonzales, Dean of Students