As the Ohio University Class of 2020 prepared to take its first steps into college classrooms, President Roderick McDavis took to the stage at The Convo alongside his colleagues one final time to officially welcome incoming students.
Jason Pina, the incoming vice president for Student Affairs, kicked off the ceremony by voicing his excitement to be a part of the university, despite an accidental slip in which he claimed to be a member of the “Ohio University Buckeyes.”
“Like you, I am new to Ohio University, so I expect we have a few things in common like trying not to get caught using your phone as a campus map … nervous about meeting your own expectations about being a Bobcat,” Pina said.
Marcus Cole, a senior studying psychology, spoke to the incoming freshmen as the winner of the #LoveOHIO competition, which allowed upperclassmen to submit photos or videos detailing their favorite aspects of the university for the chance to speak at the annual freshman convocation.
Cole presented his winning video and urged students to find their niche outside of the walls of their residence halls
“From Bobcat to Bobcat, I think it’s best that you guys experience Athens for yourselves and get your own reasons why you love OU,” Cole said. “My challenge to you, Class of 2020, is to leave OU a better person than you are right now.”
Faculty Senate Chair Joe McLaughlin evoked his background as a literature professor, quoting Albus Dumbledore, the fictional Hogwarts headmaster from the Harry Potter book series, and compared the freshmen to Harry Potter and his companions at the start of their first year.
“I invite you today to approach your education not simply as the attainment of a set of skills or preparation for a career, but as an awakening to a world that is amazingly beautiful and mysterious and strange and good,” McLaughlin said.
McDavis, who announced in March that he would be stepping down as president in June 2017, invited the Class of 2020 to take up an active role in the search for his successor.
“Our Board of Trustees is searching for our 21st president,” McDavis said. “In the coming months, there will be plenty of opportunities to make your voice heard in the search for the next president of Ohio University.”
Similarly, McDavis touched upon the importance of political participation in the swing state of Ohio, encouraging students to look beyond the dividing partisan lines of political parties.
“You might already have a favorite candidate, but I encourage you to listen to different points of view in the coming months.” McDavis said. “I ask simply that you keep an open mind — and not just between now and November — but throughout your time at OU as we discuss, argue and debate about the candidates.”
A standing ovation for McDavis' final convocation as Jenny Hall-Jones sheds a tear onstage.@ThePostCampus pic.twitter.com/EzxJN0LfXY
— Lauren Fisher (@lauren__fisher) August 21, 2016
McDavis also encouraged students to care for not only themselves, but those around them, imploring them to “honor the commitment to college education.”
“You are sitting here today standing on the shoulders of those who have come before you … your mothers and fathers sent you to Ohio University to get an education,” McDavis said. “They did not send you here to become an alcoholic. They did not send you here to become a drug addict. And, they did not send you here to rape somebody.”
Concluding his speech to a standing ovation and tears from Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones, McDavis called upon the students to make a single commitment to themselves and to those around them: That they will gather again in the Convocation Center on graduation day.
“You came here for a reason, not for a season,” McDavis said. “Don’t let anybody turn you around.”
@lauren__fisher
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