Over 460 of Hardin-Simmons University’s newest students make the transition to university life in a fun and informative way as HSU’s New Student Orientation activities kicked off the start of the fall semester Aug 21 – 26. This year’s theme recalled television shows and cultural institutions from the 1990’s as “The Little Yellow School Bus” gave freshmen an introduction to the Forty Acres.

New students, worried about being away from home, making new friends, and whether they have what it takes to be successful, began the week-long orientation designed to resolve those fears and bring them into the HSU family.

A student slides across the field during "The Game"

The Frosh spent the week in small groups, each assigned a facilitator and a theme. Move-in panic on Tuesday evolved into bonding during “The Game” on Thursday as barriers, real and imagined, disappeared amid hundreds of gallons of paint and a team building exercise. “Differences of background, ethnicity, social status, wealth, and academic ability pretty much disappear when we were all covered in paint,” one student exclaimed. By the time students left The Game, the paint had run together to make a single color, effectively illustrating her point.

Other activities included a glimpse of HSU history, campus tag, scavenger hunt, beanie capping, the Alumni Ice Cream Social, a fun fest at Mr. Gatti’s Pizza, and a pep rally.

Students shared their fears about college life as they gathered at the homes of faculty and staff for an evening dessert party, and learned that those fears were common to all and could be overcome. A final “Cheer Off” and a movie closed Friday’s activities and everyone got to sleep in a little longer on Saturday.

Service is a big part of college life at HSU, so when freshmen stumbled out of bed at the crack of noon on Saturday, they partnered with the University’s adopted neighborhood to remove trash and discarded appliances from the area bordered by Pine, Ambler, Grape, and I-20. Each year, students haul away an average of 40 tons of refuse from the area.

By week’s end, beanies were covered with the names of the new friends that will travel together to commencement in four short years. A lot will happen in that time, but NSO is something no one will ever forget.