The directions to Sweat Lodge received at dorm check in leads to the O'Brien Estate - a large white plantation style building. Further instructions assist the navigation of the multilevel building - down halls and past many rooms which showcase studies, meeting rooms, a formal dining room, and so forth - to a set of full wood double doors. Through these doors lays an enormous study made up to look somewhat like a sitting room, though there are seats spread about there isn't enough to go around; everyone already in the room seem to be just fine standing though. Just inside the door, on either side, are tables waiting for students to grab name tags from. As you can see, the others have already donned their own - save for the black haired girl in the corner who seems to just be watching all the socializing from behind her yellow tinted glasses. Against the large wood desk stands a large table covered in a school themed table cloth boasting the ETU Raven crest on it in beautiful embroidery. It is on this table the refreshments of a punch bowl and cookie platters.
After a glance to the grandfather clock on the left side of the room, an older man, age evident more in his white hair than his features, cleared his throat from where he stood beside the unlit fire - until now the fireplace more overlooked when looking around the grandiose room than one would imagine even if it happens to stand directly opposite the entry way. A smile brought forth tiny wrinkles, almost like they crept out to enhance the kindly look than hid away the formerly sterner features. The conversations in the room start to die away, and it is once the room is relatively quite that he began to speak, "Good evening. If you are all about ready, I would like to get this underway. For those of you who are unaware, or have yet to assume, I am Jams Nelson - president of this university - and you may call me James, or Mr. Nelson. It gives me great pleasure to welcome the graduating class of 2018."
The black haired girl left her corner, moving toward James. She stayed quiet, and stopped a few feet from him.
"Before I hand over the speaking honors to your senior assistant - " James motioned toward his side and the girl glanced around at those gathered before inclining her head slightly. "I'd like to go over a few things. Here on campus, safety is an utmost priority. If ever you feel threatened or something is wrong, remember our Six-S rule: Seek Shelter, Stay in Sight, and Summon Security. Now if you happen to be out of your dorm and you feel unsafe, our Student Center and Library buildings are both designated Safe Zones. Just go to one of those locations and you will be able to call security right away.
"Until you get more accustomed to our school grounds, I advise against traveling alone at night. It can be quite easy for you to get turned around, and we'd hate for you to get lost. Also, keep in mind that those of you who have stored a rifle in a locker will only have access to it from seven A.M. to seven P.M. - Monday through Friday - seven A.M. to nine P.M. on Saturdays, and from nine A.M until six P.M. on Sundays; all of these times grant you the hour leeway of access and travel to and from the local shooting range without missing any of the range's operation time. Certain exceptions may be made based on hunting permits, trips home, and so forth - but if ever we find a weapon that is not a paintball gun stored in your dorm it is immediate grounds for expulsion."
He clapped his hands together and turned partially toward the girl a few feet from him before turning back to the crowd at large. "Without further ado, I would like you all to meet your senior adviser, Miss Emily Adams." A sweep of his hand motioned to the girl, and he fully turned to face her. "Miss Adams, if you would..."
Emily stepped a little more central to the room, heading more to the middle than to being near the fire and James. She tossed her head to knock her bangs out of her eyes. Before, the writing on her black shirt may have been a bit hard to see, but with her arms at her sides instead of playing with the large brown wrist band it was easier to see it said There are two kinds of people in the world: those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.
"Hey, so you can either call me Em or Emily or maybe a few of you are on leader boards and want to call me Harkness. Some people even call me Captain. At any rate, here's a run down. Every other Saturday I lead a team against the ROTC crew on their paintball field. Sign up sheets can be found in the Student Center; we hit up the paint ball field across town for practices every Tuesday and Thursday at six. If you don't have your own gear, ROTC generally lets the newbs borrow until you can purchase from the paintball shop in town. I also do random pick up games for co-op video games, table top, board games. Whatever. Sign ups for that stuff can be found in the Student Center as well.
"Some things to know - stay out of the bell tower." She paused, looking around at the various faces. "Seriously. And also, if you're in Whitehall - don't constantly complain about flickering lights and any weird variations in temperature in there. It's been like that since I started, and there's nothing wrong with the wiring; I know, I checked. Also, unless you are part of the agricultural department just stay out of the green houses; that's just a safety tip."
The throat clear from James caught her attention momentarily, but she quickly turned to look at the freshman again. "Since most of you aren't from around here - here's some scenery tips. Big Thicket is big - like mondo huge - so if you're going in there, bring a GPS or other Sat link navigation since you will lose cell service about two miles in. Maps are helpful, but a lot of the trails all look the same. It's highly recommended you don't start hiking the trails without someone experienced with you. I am not that person. If you ask me, I will tell you no and I will probably call you and idiot. Just don't do it. Lake Greystone isn't too far away, and it's nice - but both the lake and the woods you don't want to be in or around after dusk. There are things out there that come out at night and most are really dangerous."
The cheerful look previously on James' face wore away to a bit of a frown and he stepped forward just as Emily was opening her mouth again. The smile came back a bit twitch at the edges. "Thank you, Miss Adams," he let out a wholesome laugh. "I realize you seniors enjoy scaring the freshmen but that will be enough."
Emily shrugged. "Alright, welp, if any of you guys need help finding your way around or whatever - you can catch me in the student center or the comp labs in the library and if I'm not there, you can find me in room 13 in Whitney - ground floor of the building." With that, she headed off toward her corner again.
James clapped his hands together, the smile becoming more sound on his face. "Please, feel free to return to socializing. If you have any questions, you can direct them to your senior adviser." He waved slightly, and left the room promptly; the doors closed behind him.
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