It’s a new year, and many of you find yourselves in an unfamiliar environment. A major part of the uneasiness that comes with a new school is not knowing who to consult if you find yourself needing assistance. Fortunately, the Free Press has compiled a list of essential people on campus that you may need to contact at some point this year.
Of course, the school revolves around academics, and since the nuances of the academic side of campus can be complicated to even the most experienced McDaniel student, it’s good to know who to turn to if you have an academic concern. By now you probably know that you have your first-year seminar professor who acts as your advisor, as well as professors in your prospective departments. However, there is also the Academic Affairs office in Elderdice Hall, specifically Dr. Violanti who is Associate Dean of First Year Students, who should be able to assist you in any academic matter that your advisors and professors cannot.
As you will quickly learn, however, there is far more to college than academics. You may have concerns about essential issues such as housing and meal plans. For issues involving your residence, the first person to speak to is your Resident Assistant. While some issues must be solved by the Office of Residence Life in Decker College Center, your RA should be able to help with most of them and serve as the most available liaison between you and “ResLife.” Also, if you have any concerns about your meal plan, the best person to talk to is Karamae McCauley in the ID card office next to the Dining Hall. She can check how many meals and how much money is on your ID card, as well as help you to add meals if you need to towards the end of the semester.
Just about all financial transactions on campus, from parking tickets to semester tuition, are handled by the Bursar’s Office, which is also located on the first floor of Elderdice. The bursar’s shares a hallway with two other important offices, the Financial Aid Office and the Registrar’s Office. This part of campus may seem insignificant now, but by the time you finish at McDaniel, you will realize how much you needed to travel this corridor trying to get through you time on The Hill.
Once these “essentials” are taken care of, then it’s time to find out who to ask about having fun at McDaniel. The Office of Student Engagement, across from Glar, is the grand organizer of events on campus, such as movies, as well as off-campus excursions. You shouldn’t have to work hard to find out what the OSE is up to; they generally put up posters around campus and flood your e-mail inbox with notices about upcoming events.
There are many other important people and offices on campus that will eventually need to know to survive at McDaniel, but these are the most important for you in this first year on campus. If you need to find anything else, there are two more important resources that you can utilize. First is the Welcome Desk, on the top floor of Decker next to Ensor Lounge, who can help direct you to anyone that you need to find on campus. Lastly, and most importantly, is the campus directory on our college’s new and improved website.
While graduation may seem a long way away, your time at McDaniel will go by all too quickly, and it is much too short to waste on finding the right people to help you thrive on The Hill.
