BY CATHERINE TSAI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS -- Northern Kentucky University's annual Freshfusion party welcomed a record crowd of first-year students this year.
About 700 students showed up Thursday for the official kickoff for freshmen, even though classes started Aug. 26. Last year, NKU enrolled 1,700 first-time freshmen.
"We let you settle in for a week and then we throw you a big party," Freshfusion Chairwoman Melissa Eversole told a throng of residents and commuters.
After comments from President James Votruba and games in the basketball arena, the dinner-time crowd moved outdoors.
On a sun-bathed plaza, they clung to a Velcro wall, clobbered acquaintances with oversized boxing gloves, and climbed a gray, inflatable mountain while live riffs from the local band Denial blasted nearby.
It was a Freshfusion that marked several firsts.
The Black Men's Organization started its first year on campus and at Freshfusion by recruiting members of all races.
"It's for everyone," said third-year student Lawrence Coleman, 20, of Lexington. "We're not going to turn anyone down."
For Barbara Ross, 24, of Fort Collins, Colo., this school year is her first in six years. She had been practicing cosmetology. "I was so ready to go back to school," she said. "I'm trying to expand my horizons."
Many Freshfusion attendees were enrolled in University 101, a semesterlong orientation course. Marcia Miller is one of the teachers for the course.
"We try to build a relationship with the students and the campus," Ms. Miller said. "A lot of it is aimed at retention, because if they make it through their first year, they're more likely to graduate here."
First-year Program Director Fran Zaniello, Ms. Eversole and other organizers seemed pleased with this year's party.
"It's only been around for a few years," Ms. Eversole said, "but it's becoming one of the big traditions at NKU."
