Dear Hawkeyes:

Today, we celebrate a tradition our campus bears witness to each August, in which students from all walks of life converge on campus, swarming the Pentacrest as each hurries to their first classes of the fall semester. Our campus once again becomes a hub for knowledge and experiences as unique as the students who bring them. It’s a ceremonious display, as our individual paths led us to this single moment, staring up at the gold dome of the Old Capitol as it glints in the August sunlight (not including today’s solar eclipse, that is).

You are part of something so much bigger than any one university, the University of Iowa included. You are embarking on the student adventure, a multi-year exhibition riddled with the twists and turns of life as we slowly discover who we want to become. Along the way, we experience our own shortcomings, obstacles in the way. We find fellow students wandering as aimlessly through college as ourselves and join together to form bonds that last a lifetime. We uncover ideas not yet fathomed by our minds, are challenged by those ideas contrasting our own, and, with any luck, we learn something in the process.

As you begin your first week of classes, remember this one thing: You are part of the Hawkeye family, and, as in any family, you are welcomed home with open arms, regardless of the path you chose to get here and the perspectives this path has given you. We care only that you have an open mind and a willingness and eagerness to learn during your time at this university. We cherish knowledge in this institution and believe that students can only grow through listening to their fellow Hawks and actively engaging in conversation, no matter how hard these conversations may seem. And while these conversations are crucial to the minds that facilitate them, they should sprout from an open heart, void of the hate and bigotry emerging from college campuses across the nation.

As part of the Hawkeye family, the University of Iowa Student Government knows how important these discussions are, not only on campus but engaging legislators in the Statehouse and U.S. Capitol. When we share our ideas and experiences with each other, we create a space to advocate for students and facilitate meaningful change to better the college experience for
EVERYONE.

We sincerely hope you take the time to truly learn all that this university and its students can teach you. It is our belief that, when we come together as the Hawkeye family we are, the world can become a little happier of a place. Welcome home, Hawks.

Always working for you,

UI Student Government