HSU Welcomes Stampede of New Students

As Hardin-Simmons enters its 124th year new students get to experience life at HSU the week before class starts.

September 1, 2015 Meredith Foster (Student Writer)

Around 500 students participated in this year’s Stampede, or new student orientation. Over 80 returning students volunteered to help make Stampede a success, whether they be on SWAT, Steering Committee or a wrangler.  

Austin Hennesay, senior psychology major and three time wrangler from Springtown, said. “I was excited to be a wrangler because it was great chance to pour into the incoming students and allow them to see what HSU is all about!”

New students had a full schedule for this year’s Stampede. They participated in everything from a community service project at The Friendship House cleaning up the neighborhoods around campus, and being part of fun activities such as campus tag. During Campus tag each family group plays a game at stations set up around campus so that students can learn the location of buildings.

Brady Roper, freshman history education major from Midland, said, “I thought the community service project was great because it allowed our group to bond, which created new friendships, and to get to know the community around our campus.”

Throughout stampede students learned about the history and traditions at HSU. At the end of the week students were able to participate in one of HSU’s oldest traditions that has been around since the 1920’s; the Beanie Capping Ceremony.

Caleb Shreckengast, a junior transfer computer science major from Aledo, Texas, said, “It was definitely very memorable and fun. It felt really cool to be part of such a long tradition at HSU.”

Following the Beanie Capping ceremony the ice cream social allows new and current students and HSU alumni to socialize and sign the new student’s beanies.

Shreckengast said, “It was a really positive experience. There were many people I met just because they wanted to sign my beanie.”

For more information about new student orientation or to schedule a visit to HSU see https://www.hsutx.edu/prospective-students/.

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