By Amy ReynoldsFeatures Editor

Leaving home for your freshman year of college can be really scary, especially when you’re unsure of what exactly to expect.

Thoughts rushing through your head may be “How am I going to meet new people?” or “What if I don’t fit in?”

And that’s exactly where Welcome Week fits in. Not only is it really fun and jam-packed with activi-

ties like karaoke, get-to-know-you-games and the one and only Play Fair, but it’s also the time when you’ll meet your best friends for the next four years and longer.

“During your first few days of college, you can’t be afraid to open up to new people,” said sophomore eco-nomics major Matthew Scapardine. “It may be a little hard at first, but it’s definitely worth it in the long run.”

There’s no question that everyone’s least favorite part

of Welcome Week is getting woken up at 7 a.m. every morning just for breakfast, but the rest of the day is so much fun. Completely exhausting, but definitely worth it.

Welcome Week is also a great opportunity to find out about what The College, besides academics, has to offer. If you’re interested in joining a club, getting involved in a fraternity or sorority, or studying abroad, Welcome Week offers great info sessions to give you all the details.

For most people, Play Fair is the most exciting part of Welcome Week and also the most anticipated because no one knows exactly what to expect. Basically, Play Fair involves the entire freshman class, and some would de-scribe it as speed dating for friends and it’s definitely a ton of fun!

Although the thought of leaving your family and all your high school friends still might be a little nerve-wrack-ing, one thing an incoming freshman has to know is that, once you’re past all the awkward conversations that con-

sist of “Where are you from?” “What’s your major?” and “What kind of extra-curricular activities do you do?” you will have met so many of your new best friends.

However, Welcome Week can feel a little like sum-mer camp, and some people may not enjoy it as much as others.

Sophomore biology major Justin Shaffer said, “I didn’t really enjoy Welcome Week all that much. It was a little awkward and at times a little boring. But once you get past all that, you really get to know a bunch of great people.”

For most though, Welcome Week makes the transition into college so much easier and less stressful.

“Welcome Week made me go from dreading college to embracing it. It was the ultimate bonding experience with my floor during the hurricane and with the rest of my class during Play Fair,” said sophomore History and Special education major Diane Iannacone. “I wish I could come back for it every year.”

Welcome Week (time of your life)

The C-Store: Meal points work here. It’s right by one of the entrances to Eick. There’s a sign in front of it that says “Convenience Store.” Don’t call it that.

Doc-ed (sounds like docked): This means being written up for a violation of student code and it’s an unpleasant experience.

Eick (Eickhoff Hall): The dining hall that doubles as an upperclassmen dormi-tory (all of those windows you see when you look up are dorms and maybe the best ones on campus).

Hassan: Craving a $5 pizza? Call Hassan any time on Tuesday or Thursday – Sun-day nights and he will drive to you with one of his famous pizzas. With a group

of friends? He’ll probably have enough in his SUV for everybody.

The Loop (Metzger Drive): The big cir-cular road that runs around campus. As freshmen, you won’t be driving on it of-ten, but it makes for a great run at just under two miles.

Loop Bus: This yellow bus will pick you up outside the student center and drop you off at the Quaker Bridge Mall, AMC theatres, the Hamilton train sta-tion, downtown Princeton and two strip malls (with Target, Panera, Cheeburger and so much more). It runs on Tues-days, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It makes not having a car much more bearable.

The Towers: Pretty self explanatory, but 2/3 of your class will live in Travers and Wolfe. If you live in these halls, remem-ber, don’t use the elevator unless you live on floor five and up. Seriously.

Meal Equiv: From 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each day, many students (and nearly all residential freshmen) get up to $6.50 worth of food that is not deducted from their meal points. This works at the Stud, Rat, Library Café and Kineticart.

The Rat (The Rathskeller): Basically a small pub on campus. You can get all types of grilled and fried food, and when you turn 21 you can buy beer here too. In addition to being home to pos-sibly the best food on campus, The Rat

has quality music almost every Friday.

The Stud (Brower Student Center): This oddly shaped building brings you a bookstore, a food court, plenty of seating and pool and ping pong tables. The true treasure of this building lies in the base-ment, where you can find us, The Signal staff, working hard to provide you with this wonderful newspaper.

T-Dubs: Late night snack? Head down (or, in the case of ABE and Norsworthy resdients, head over) to the basement of the Towers. Burritos, burgers and Ben & Jerry’s are just a small sample of the variety of food T-Dubs offers in exchange for meal points. There’s also an assortment of candy.

Serving The College of New Jersey community since 1885Vol. CXXVIII, No. 1a Welcome Week 2012

Freshman Edition

This special issue of The Signal brings you…a removable campus map, a TCNJ.edu sampler guide, a glimpse at some people you will definitely come across during your time here, tips for avoiding being identified as a freshman and more.

College cheat sheet: your quick terms list

Whether you’re in Travers, Wolfe, ABE or Norsworthy (clockwise from the left), we here at The Signal are excited to welcome you to the College. We’ve been here for more than 125 years, and we’d like to share some of our accumulated knowledge of the school with you.

Brendan McGrath / Managing Editor

page 2 The Signal Welcome Week 2012

The five people

you’ll meet at TCNJ

President Gitenstein

Who runs the College? This woman. Sometimes lov-ingly referred to as “The Git,” she is the ultimate authority at this school.

Roscoe The Lion

Long before Snoop changed his name, Roscoe has been the greatest lion around. He’s our mascot and you’ll spot him roar-ing around campus.

Big Larry

Larry is basically the king of the dining hall. Get on a first name basis with him and you’ll feel like TCNJ royalty yourself.

The C-Store Man

Known for his snaz-zy suits, this C-Store cashier is basically a rockstar. He is defi-nitely the most stylish man on campus.

Hassan

A campus legend, Hassan sells $5 pizza to students late at night on weekends. He’s probably the friendli-est delivery man you’ll ever meet.

TCNJ bucket listWe gathered ideas from alumni and students about what you should make

sure to do before graduating. See how many you can check off this list by the time freshman year is over!

p Join at least one club on campus and get as involved as possible.p Take the 601 bus to Trenton train station and travel beyond campus.

p Swim in the Science Complex fountain.p Order a $5 pizza from Hassan. (Who? You’ll find out soon enough.)

p Spend an afternoon reading by the lakes. p Experience the Big Larry around-the-back card swipe in Eick.

p Get close to at least one faculty member.p Visit the observatory and stare at the stars.

p Take a picture riding the lion outside Roscoe West.p High-five Roscoe the Lion.

p Forget about calories and eat a Fat Shack sandwich.p Swing on the tire swing outside of ABE.

p Mudslide in front of the Towers.p In the winter, build a giant snowman on campus.p Visit the roofs on as many buildings as possible.

p Try a T-Dubs burger.p Attend a fitness class and stick with it.

p Take a picture with President Gitenstein.p Have a picnic dinner on the top of Lot 6.

p Make the Dean’s List at least once.p Spend a semester abroad.

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Welcome Week 2012 The Signal page 3

Ways to escape your dorm

By Jamie PrimeauEditor-in-Chief

As the saying goes, you are now the small fish in a big pond. With over 6,000 students swarming around, it can be easy to blend in — unless, of course, you showcase these stereotypical freshman traits. If you want to use these tips to identify your peers, that’s great. But if you’d rather not be recognized immediate-ly as a first year student, avoid these red flags:

• Wearing a lanyard. Yes, they’re convenient, but using a lanyard is also the equivalent of hanging a sign around your neck that says “freshman.” If you already bought one, at least stick it in your pocket.

• Traveling in packs. Bonding with your floor is great since nobody wants to venture into the unknown alone. Still, it’s an obvious sign you’re rep-ping a freshman floor when always trekking around campus in herds.

• Asking for directions. Other students will gladly point you in the right direc-tion, but when everyone is in a rush, it can be tough. Avoid getting lost by con-

cealing a small map inside your planner and finding your own way. (Cut ours out and use it!)

• Using meal points in the wrong places. Learn the difference between meal points and Get It points. You can’t use your meal plan at the book-store and you can’t get Meal Equiv outside of 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

• Mistaking The College of New Jer-sey for the Jersey Shore. During nicer weather, the lawn outside Travers and Wolfe Halls basically transforms into a beach. Girls tanning on towels and guys throwing Frisbees are common occurrences.

• Huddling in parking lots. On the weekends, groups of freshmen tend to congregate in parking lots. Why? They’re most likely headed to a party. Without cars on campus, students rely on designated drivers to pick them up.

In all seriousness, freshman year is super exciting and you should embrace it. It’s also the only time where “I’m a freshman” is an acceptable excuse for almost anything. Enjoy it and know that everyone else wishes they could rewind to that time.

How to spot a freshmanBy Julia CorbettCopy Editor

While floor bonding, movie nights and trips to T-Dubs are the norm during freshman year, there are also plenty of cool things to do outside of the dorms. Sure, not having a car on campus can be a drag, but the College does make an effort to entertain you. Before you utter those awful words, “There’s noth-ing to do on campus,” check out this list.

The Loop Bus: Take a trip on the Loop Bus every Tuesday night, Friday night and Sat-urday to get off campus. It makes up for not having a car. Go to Quakerbridge Mall to shop, the AMC theatre for the next install-ment of your favorite movie series or hit up Princeton and pretend you’re an Ivy Leaguer for the night.

Special CUB Events: The College Union Board is a primary source of entertain-ment events on campus. CUB hosts con-certs, comedy shows, lectures, bus trips and themed events in the Brower Student Center. CUB also runs a film series every Tuesday and Saturday night featuring the latest flicks.

Theatre Performances: All College The-atre and TCNJ Musical Theatre have a bunch of shows throughout the semester.

Whether dramatic, intricate plots are your thing, or vocal performances, there’s a show for everyone. Both groups are packed with passionate performers that are worth checking out.

Coffeehouses: Organizations like WTSR frequently put on coffeehouses. These events are great for student performers to show off their musical chops and friends to root them on.

Sports Games: Though the College is not the biggest sports school, we have some great and exciting teams. Go to football, soccer or hockey games with friends, root on the track team and show your school spirit.

Intramural Sports: A lot of freshman floors make intramural teams. Creating a softball, soccer or volleyball team gives you a chance to bond with your floor in an athletic atmosphere. Compete against other floors and meet new people. May the best floor win!

CUB Rat Shows: A segment of CUB is also devoted to putting on performances of lesser-known artists in the Rathskeller ev-ery Friday and the first Tuesday of every month. Attendance is always free and you never know what band you may discover.

A play by All College Theatre, a Seth Meyers comedy show put on by the College Union Board and a Lions football game are just a few highlights of the many events that happened last year. There are sure to be many more enjoyable events as you experience your freshman year.

The College will tell you time and again that email is their official means of communication.

Most of you have probably figured out already that you can find it under the Google Apps icon.

What you may not realize is that this also pro-vides a wonderful Google docs/drive platform that allows you to do and share work across many computers.

Best of all, it has a great calendar that, along with your email, can be synced to just about any smart phone.

We recommend you use this service to the full. It provides a great opportunity for sharing work and keeping yourself on schedule.

Bills. Grades. Course selection. All of these can be found on PAWS, the Col-

lege’s web service that allows students to access their private information and extend auxiliary ac-cess to their parents.

You’ve probably seen this already, but it will appear again.

Every time you need to pay your bill (whether for room and board, tuition, fines or a parking de-cal next year) you’ll go here.

In November, this site will provide you with your registration time. You will be able to shop through your classes, and then when the time comes, attempt to enroll.

SOCS helps you connect with your classes. You can email anyone in your class through this site, and depending on your professor’s style, you may be able to do much more.

SOCS has the ability to provide updated grade information, discussions among the class, atten-dance records and resources that your professor posts.

While SOCS is not perfect (and will, in fact, be making its way out at the end of the year), it can make things a lot easier.

It connects groups and saves you a lot of effort in finding resources. Use it as best you can and your freshman year will be better for it.

Making the web work for you — the main sites

Photos by Seiichi Villalona, Matthew Mance, and Tom O’Dell

Eickhoff Hall (Eick) – The main dining hall on cam-pus and the only place where you won’t need to use points if you have a typical freshman meal plan. Hours: Mon - Thur: 7:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.Saturday: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.

The Library Café – Make a right when you enter the Library and you’ll find this cafe that serves Starbucks coffee and espresso drinks as well as plenty of food (including great cookies) all day long. Hours: Mon - Thur: 7:30 a.m. - 1 a.m.Friday: 7:30 a.m. - 11 p.m. Saturday: 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sunday: 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.

The Lion’s Den (Stud Food Court) – An alternative to eating lunch in Eick, the food court serves personal piz-zas, sandwiches, burgers and much more. Hours: Mon - Thur: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.Friday: 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.Sat - Sun: Closed

The Rathskeller (The Rat) – This pub-like establishment located in the Stud has a pretty solid selection of food, but be-ware during Meal Equiv the wait time can be lonnnnnnnnng. Hours: Mon - Fri: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Sat - Sun: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

The C-Store – Candy, chips, frozen lasagna. The C-Store has it all.Hours: Mon - Fri: 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 a.m. Sat - Sun: 7:30 a.m. - Midnight

Kineticart – This stand sits in Armstrong and is a convenient destination when you have classes on that side of campus. Hours: Mon, Tue & Thur: 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.Sat - Sun: Closed

Education Building Café – This brand new feature to the campus should serve as a great destination during the week and alleviate some of the crowd in the Library Café. Hours: Mon - Thur: 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Friday: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

T-Dubs – Conveniently situated in the basement be-tween Travers and Wolfe, T-Dubs is great for a late night ice cream, candy or burrito run. Hours: Everyday: 6 p.m. - 1 a.m.

All of the above locations take points, and all but Eick and T-Dubs accept meal equiv. For Eick you will only need your swipes and T-Dubs opens after meal equiv ends.

As our gift to you, we decided to provide this handy-dandy map. Feel free to cut it out and carry it around. Places marked on the map with black stars are spots you should know. See below for descrip-tions of those locations.

* Travers/Wolfe Halls: Referred to as “the Towers,” these iden-tical 10-story buildings house freshmen. Located in the base-ment is a latenight eatery called T-Dubs. The T/W fitness center is on the first floor in the connecting link.* Norsworthy Hall: Previously a residence hall for sophomores, freshmen now reside in this three-floor dorm.* Brewster/Allen Halls: These dorms make up two-thirds of the building commonly called ABE. The field behind it is known as ABE Lawn and there’s even a piano in the drawing room of Allen.* Eickhoff Hall: This is the main dining hall on campus. Your meal plan grants you unlimited entry. It is attached to the C-Store, a con-venience store, full of snack foods and other goodies.* The Library: Four floors filled with books and plenty of room to study. There’s also a café where you can get Starbucks coffee.* Brower Student Center: Home to The Rat, the Lion’s Den, the bookstore and many other locations. Essentially it’s the heart of campus and you’ll spend plenty of time here.* Green Hall: This building is the go-to place for Financial Aid and any administrative paperwork. It also houses the Center for Global Education.* Packer Hall: The gym, a.k.a. the Physical Enhancement Cen-ter, is located here. There’s also a pool!* Lions’ Stadium: This is the campus football field. Four years from now, it will also be where your graduation is held.* Kendall Hall: The Main Stage of Kendall is a theatre on cam-pus where comedians and musicians perform. Shows are held on the stage throughout the year.

Campus map

Want to be on the other side of this paper?

We have a number of positions available for freshmen!

We’re looking for: Writers - Be the one who brings the story to the campus. Photographers - Capture the events and bring the story to life. Assistants - Join our staff and help make this paper happen.

Where to eat, what to eat

From the top down, Eickhoff Hall, The Lion’s Den and the Library Café.

Contact us: Signal@tcnj.edu (609) 771-2424 Located in the Brower Student Center basement (Use the staircase to the left of the info desk)

page 4 The Signal Welcome Week 2012

Brendan McGrath / Managing Editor