New Ramapo College Students Walk Through Arch In Honored Tradition

MAHWAH, NJ — New students at Ramapo College proceeded through the iconic Havemeyer Arch Sunday and were greeted by college President Cindy R. Jebb, as part of a "time-honored tradition" when they first start at the college, the college said in a Facebook post.

Cheered on by campus members, family and friends, the new Roadrunners proceeded up Mansion Road and through the arch, following an assembly at the Bradley Center Arena, where Jebb, along with other college administrators, delivered remarks to officially welcome them to campus.

This was on the evening of the first day of Ramapo's Welcome Week, a series of student-centered events that also includes a Maroon Madness Pep Rally, leadership development and workshop training, and an involvement and global opportunities fair, college spokesperson Angela Daidone said.

On Tuesday, there was an opening convocation — a formal academic ceremony that ushers in the new year at Ramapo College — that featured New York writer and best-selling author David Grann, whose nonfiction book "Killers of the Flower Moon" was selected for the college's 2022 summer reading.

The program also featured a blessing by Chief Dwaine Perry of the Ramapo Lenape Munsee Nation, and the college offered a land acknowledgement in recognition of its place on the ancestral lands of the Ramapo Lenape Munsee peoples.

Earlier this week, several faculty, staff and student leaders were also on hand to assist new students and their families at the New Student Move-in and other welcome activities.

"It's been a glorious welcome week," Jebb said in a statement. "I loved seeing all the families and friends cheering on their students during Arching; our faculty and staff greeting everyone; and our volunteer students welcoming and helping new students with move in — these are just a few of the many fulfilling opportunities that come with being a new member of the Ramapo College community."

On the eve of Commencement, students proceed through the Arch in the opposite direction, while being cheered on by faculty, staff, family and friends — all to "signify the completion of the undergraduate experience," the college said on its website.

Ramapo College welcomed approximately 870 first-year students and 450 new transfer students to its fall semester, Daidone said. Classes for the 2022-23 academic year begin on Aug. 31.