August 24, 2014

Dear Harvard College Class of 2018,

Welcome! This is it, the moment you, your family and all of us have been waiting for – move-in day.

The excitement has been building throughout the Yard and across campus this past week as we prepare for your arrival. While some of you may already be on campus, tomorrow is the day that all of you will be moving into the dorms. Before you arrive, we want to share a few thoughts with you.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day – and one you will likely remember for the rest of your lives. We are all looking forward to welcoming you, and as you can see, a few of us in the Harvard community have already offered our advice. If you're using social media, please offer your own thoughts and experiences by tagging your posts using #Harvard2018.

Opening Days is a busy time, and Harvard may seem a bit overwhelming at first. Please keep in mind that the programming offered throughout the week is designed to help you in your transition to Harvard. College is a time of a lot of firsts. As you navigate each of these new experiences, please think about the situation you are in, and make sure it feels safe and right. Look out for each other. If you are worried about something, or if you have questions about the College or your experiences here, we encourage you to talk to a proctor, your resident dean, your advisor, or a peer-advising fellow. We are all here to support you, and we hope that you will all support each other.

To ensure that we all have a little fun, on the morning of September 1, we will kick off a virtual scavenger hunt by sharing clues on Instagram (@deankhurana). You'll have the opportunity to engage with each other and the broader College community as you use clues to answer questions and explore campus. Teams will be organized by entryway, and there will be a prize for the winners. We hope you will join us.

Finally, we want to reiterate how important it is that we work together to create the conditions at Harvard that will allow your education to be a truly transformative experience. We are fortunate to be part of a community of learners who value teaching and scholarship, who treat every member of our community with dignity and respect, and who push ourselves and each other to stretch beyond our comfort zones to fully realize the Harvard College's mission of educating responsible citizens and citizen-leaders for our society. Each of us can and should take an active role in shaping the community we would like to see at Harvard and beyond. We cannot wait to continue this and many other discussions with you all as the fall term begins.

Warmly,
Dean Dingman and Dean Khurana