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Incoming freshmen build new traditions at Club U-Dub-Dub

Released: August 21, 2008


 Do you know what it means to be a Warhawk? Incoming students are about to find out thanks to UW-Whitewater’s new freshman orientation programs.

The programs are all about connections and preparing incoming freshman for college life at UW-Whitewater. “We know that when students feel connected, they are more likely to be successful academically, socially and personally,” Kim Simes of the First Year Experience Program said.  “We hope these programs give students an opportunity to make connections.  Once these connections are established, students will begin to identify UW-Whitewater as their new ‘home.’”

The new orientation programs include Plan-It Purple, Club U-Dub Dub and the First Year Experience podcasts. Completely different from the orientation programs of years past, their goal is to show students what it means to be a Warhawk and what traditions they will be passing on to future freshman classes.

“The new line-up of events will help freshmen to know right away what it means to be purple,” Simes said.  “They will have a sense of institutional pride, they will feel connected and…they will have fun.”

Plan-It Purple is the summer registration/orientation program that all new UW-Whitewater students attend.  During Plan-It Purple, students meet their Hawk Squad leader and other new students, learn about campus resources and academic programs, meet with an academic advisor and register for classes. 
“New students get the very basic information they need at Plan-It Purple,” Simes said.  “In the past, they would get lots of information thrown at them that they weren’t able to process and that they forgot by the time classes began.  We expanded orientation now so that new students get the information they need when it’s most useful for them.”

Club U-Dub-Dub, UW-Whitewater’s fall orientation program for new students, is key.  Club U-Dub-Dub kicks off the day after freshmen move-in, and is students’ all-access pass to everything UW-Whitewater.  The two-day event includes meetings with other new Warhawks, the Hawkfest student organization and Whitewater business fair, sessions featuring campus and national speakers and more.  At ‘R U Purple?’, the Warhawk tradition-building event, freshmen will launch a new Warhawk tradition and earn their “purple pack.”
   
“Warhawk pride begins at ‘R U Purple’,” Kim Moistner-Bartlett, assistant dean of Student Life and First Year Experience, said.  “This year’s freshman class will get to launch a new Warhawk tradition and pave the way for every future freshman class to experience in years to follow. This class will be welcomed to UW-Whitewater like never before and will have a chance to leave their mark on our campus in a new and exciting way.”

Weekly podcasts throughout August kept new students in touch with campus during the summer. “At Plan-It Purple, students received only the basic information they needed at that time,” Simes said.  “The podcasts helped fill in the gaps and gave students the next set of information they needed prior to move in and Club U-Dub-Dub.”

Hosted by members of the Hawk Squad, the podcasts covered topics including: what to expect the first day of class, the best places to study, where to go to eat, what items to pack, where to go to work out and where to go if you’re are feeling under the weather.  All of the podcasts are available online at: http://www.uww.edu/slfye/podcasts/.

“It is our goal that students will leave their Club U-Dub-Dub experience more energized, more informed and more committed to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and their status as a Warhawk,” Moistner-Bartlett said.

Club U-Dub-Dub 2008 kicks off Thursday, Aug. 28 at 9 a.m. in the Young Auditorium and ends on Friday, Aug. 29 at 12:30 p.m. with Convocation.

Club U-Dub-Dub Schedule:

Thursday, Aug. 28:

Friday, Aug. 29:

- Melissa DiMotto,dimottom@uww.edu