MACON — Mercer University will welcome freshmen to the Macon campus on Saturday and will open its school year on Monday with its traditional fall convocation. In between, the school will attempt to set a world record for the largest game of tag. The festivities begin with Move-In Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the game of tag will begin at 8:30 p.m. on Porter Patch.
As part of Mercer’s tradition of personal attention and service, upperclassmen, faculty and staff will be on hand to help the students move into the residence halls on Saturday. Following move-in and lunch, students and their families will participate in two events at the University Center, a dessert reception with President William D. Underwood from 2 to 3 p.m. and an official welcome program in the UC Arena from 3 to 4 p.m.
That evening, the new students will take part in the game of tag, hoping to best the record of 465, which was set in Canada. Organizers expect that the more than 600 new students and their advisers to easily eclipse the record. The event is part of Bear Beginnings, the University’s orientation program and is the first of a few evening activities on Move-In Day.
On Monday, Aug. 23, the University will hold its annual fall convocation at 2 p.m. in Willingham Auditorium. Mercer President William D. Underwood will speak at the event. The convocation also features the faculty from the Macon campus in full regalia, all first-year students and hundreds of returning students.
A 4 p.m. Monday, first-year and returning students will head to the annual Bear Fair in the University Center to learn about ways to become more involved on campus and off. More than 120 student organizations, campus offices and local businesses are expected in the UC Arena concourse and Heritage Hall.
Classes for the Macon campus begin on Aug. 24.
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,000 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on major campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah and at three regional academic centers across the state. Mercer is affiliated with two teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah and the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. The University operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit www.mercer.edu.
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