Music, dancing, movies, roller skating, mini golf, and other events welcomed students back to Stony Brook University during New Seawolf Welcome Week. Despite a delayed move-in due to flash flooding, the campus soon became active from the SAC to LaValle Stadium.
Interim President Richard McCormick addressed first-year and transfer students at convocation events held at the stadium and the Staller Center. He expressed appreciation for the community’s resiliency while noting his own new status at Stony Brook. “Being new is both exciting and can be daunting, too,” he said on August 24. “And so I want to assure you that whatever you are feeling right now is totally, for better or for worse, normal.”
McCormick offered advice based on his career at top public research universities. “From one new kid to another, I have some advice for you — and that is to keep listening,” he said. “Listen to your heart. Listen to each other’s questions, values, and experiences. Listen to the needs of the world at large. One cannot learn without listening.”
Students participated in mandatory workshops designed to help them get settled and introduce them to faculty, staff, and fellow students. Other events included a Welcome Back BBQ, roller skating on SAC Plaza, Wolfie’s Welcome activities, games, parties, movies, arts and crafts sessions, fitness classes among others.