GE100/2011: Welcome, New Bilkenters
Each year, as summer comes to an end and the fall semester begins, Bilkent welcomes a new class of students to campus. To help ensure a successful transition to the academic, intellectual and social life of the university, all new students participate in Bilkent's orientation program, GE 100 - Introduction to Academic Life. This year, orientation was held from September 15 to 19. During GE 100, students collect the points necessary to receive credit for completing the program by attending workshops, seminars, classical music concerts, movies and department introductions. These offerings are designed to acquaint new Bilkenters with the campus and its resources, including academic options, library facilities and other features of the university. Orientation isn't all about classes and books, though. Extracurricular activities are another important part of college life. On the first day of this year's GE 100, booths were set up in front of the Odeon, where members of student clubs and groups were on hand to meet new students and provide information about their organizations. Many students took the opportunity to join groups they found interesting. And on Saturday, September 17, as part of GE 100, our own student-operated broadcaster, Radio Bilkent, hosted its annual On Air Party for the incoming class on the grass field on Main Campus. We hope all our new students learned a lot and had some fun, too, during their orientation. Welcome to campus, and best of luck as you start your first year at Bilkent!