This year’s Wildcat Welcome features a new smartphone app called NU Events that serves as a guide to campus-wide and residence-specific events for new students.

Powered by a program called Guidebook, the app contains campus maps, orientation scheduling and miscellaneous information such as laundry services and how to set up the new Xfinity on Campus cable program. It also includes Wildcat Welcome content from University social media profiles, and a shared photo album allows users to view and upload snapshots of their first days in college.

“I’m actually very excited about the idea of having an app that connects students to involvement on campus,” said Jerry Benson, Weinberg sophomore and peer adviser. “It’s an integral tool for new students to know what’s going on around campus.”

Residential Services made the free app available for download on iPhones and iPads on Sept. 9. The Wildcat Welcome schedule that freshmen received instructed them to download the app if they had a smartphone.

The app has a personalized calendar with event locations and sends users push notifications about events in their PA groups or residences.

Residential Services also introduced a new initiative to add more residence hall-centered programming for Wildcat Welcome. Bradley Zakarin, the Director of Residential Academic Initiatives, said he coordinated with New Student and Family Programs to secure time for residence halls and residential colleges to hold their own activities for freshmen.

“Some of the feedback we heard was that Wildcat Welcome was great and jam-packed,” Zakarin said. “Freshmen can see this year there are more occasions to hang out with their new home and do laid-back things.”

Zakarin said because “the individual buildings have their own identities,” events were up to the discretion of the residence hall or residential college executives and could range from barbecues to open-house meet and greets with the faculty-in-residence.

“The emphasis on dorm programming has made it easier than ever for incoming students to get acclimated to their new residential communities,” said Gabriella Romagnoli, Communication sophomore and president of Communications Residential College. “We hope that using all of our common rooms during Welcome Week encourages students to use them during the year.”

Zakarin said he hopes these changes will work towards the goal of “getting the freshmen class to feel like a cohesive unit.”

Correction: A previous version of this story contained incorrect information about the Diversity and Inclusion ENU. The Daily regrets the errors.

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