Volunteers at the Parents Tent served up drinks, barbequed treats and bags of information.

McGill Rolls out the Welcome Mat

Clay Ogg from Silver Spring, Maryland, helps his son Matt, a new McGill student, move into McConnell Hall.

McGill offered a warm welcome to its 177th class of fresh new students, laying on a week's worth of activities and services. The University was determined to make a good first impression and departments from all over campus pitched in. From the McGill Alumni Association's Parents Tent, offering refreshments and advice to anxious families, to the Registrar's much-improved system for doling out ID cards, help was at hand.

The Brown Student Services Building, located on McTavish Street, is one of the main hubs during the orientation period. It's home to the staff of the First-Year Office, led by Leslie Copeland. Her team's job is to ensure that the transition to life at McGill is as smooth as possible. Planning for the range of orientation events takes place in the months leading up to the last week of August, when thousands of new students arrive.

First-year coordinator Leslie Copeland steers Laura Devlin, a new management student from Vancouver, in the right direction.

Much of the preparation revolves around Discover McGill, which is the University's "unified day of welcome." The day started with a University-wide orientation at the Tomlinson Fieldhouse, featuring speeches from the Principal, the Dean of Students and representatives from SSMU and Athletics. Next, students took tours of the campus, weaving around the Frisbee games, musicians and picnickers that lent a carnival-like atmosphere to the day.

During frosh activities organized by the Students' Society of McGill University, undergraduates Jesus Puente, Kyle Howe and Fernando Sevilla ran and bounced their way through this inflatable obstacle course.

Lunch on the lower campus followed and was a massive undertaking, with just under 1,000 pizzas distributed to ravenous frosh. In the afternoon, students split up to join other new members of their faculties in more tailored orientations. Experienced students welcomed them to their new academic home and offered tips on how to survive and prosper at McGill.

Superfrosh leaders from the Management Undergraduate Society take a pizza break (left to right): Elena Kreek, Stephanie Cimon, Joshua Lebovic, Sydney Hamilton, Lindsay Ho and Jessica Myles.

A recent addition to the Orientation calendar is Academic Expectations day. On August 31, the eve of the first day of classes, francophone and international students gathered in the Leacock Building for a series of presentations that covered everything from note-taking tips to the transition to classes in English. (46% of all McGill students say their mother tongue is other than English.) Information on tutorials and the services at the Writing Centre are also provided.

Once the week of serious stuff was over and students felt a little more settled, the early-season SSMU-sponsored revelry kicked in. SSMU frosh activities this year benefited from some fine weather, and a highlight was a performance by platinum-selling Canadian hip-hop icon k-os. The Open Air Pub drew the usual throngs to the "Three Bares" park as students made the most of the last hot days of summer.

Gals always admire a fellow with impeccable taste in headwear. Enjoying the frosh festivities are undergraduates (left to right): Nadège Allan, David Kyffih and Mélodie Vaury.

New McGill student Mabruk Kabir is ready for his close-up and will quickly receive a spanking new McGill ID card for his brief moment in the spotlight.