Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University is celebrating the start of a new academic year by welcoming students to campus with a variety of fun activities.

This week, MSU is hosting its fifth New Maroon Camp, a student-led retreat designed to help incoming freshmen and transfer students in their transition to college life. This year, more than 1,000 students are learning about MSU history and traditions while meeting current and other first-year students. For more information and a full schedule, visit www.newmaroon.msstate.edu.

MVNU2MSU (Movin’ You to MSU), the university’s annual move-in day for residence halls, is being held Saturday [Aug. 18]. Students may arrive as early as 8:30 a.m. for check-in at Humphrey Coliseum or the Newell-Grissom Building before proceeding to check-in at their respective residence halls.

Students are assigned a check-in time based on whether they have been assigned an odd or even floor number and a check-in location based on their residence hall’s campus zone. Once the students have checked in, they are greeted at their residence hall by move-in volunteers, including faculty, staff, spirit group members, athletic team members, members of various student organizations, and MSU leaders who will assist in the move. For more information, visit www.housing.msstate.edu.

For the 13th year, MSU’s Dawg Days event series for incoming freshmen and transfer students returns to various locations on the Starkville campus and in the local community. The nine consecutive days of free student events start Aug. 18 with MVNU2MSU and continue through Aug. 26. Among the activities will be the popular Battleship game on Aug. 20 from 5-7 p.m. at the Joe Frank Sanderson Center’s pool, as well as Service Dawgs Day, an Aug. 20 event where hundreds of students will work from 8 a.m.-noon on various service projects at more than 30 community partner locations. The complete Dawg Days schedule is available online at www.dawgdays.msstate.edu.

MSU’s academic and event calendars can be found at www.msstate.edu/calendars.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.