Southeast University Welcomes 2021 Freshman Class

On September 22, 4,091 undergraduate freshmen embarked on a new journey at Southeast University. In the morning, the south entrance of Jiulonghu Campus, taking on a festive atmosphere with decoration of red arches, was bustling with batches of parents and students. At about 10 o'clock, after seeing off the children, passionate parents of 2021 freshman class with masks cried "I love SEU" while waving the folding fans printed with the school motto "Strive for Perfection" to express their excitement.

Among the freshmen admitted this year, 312 are majoring literature and history, 3,166 in science, engineering or physics, 73 in art and 540 in comprehensive cultivation programs. With 2,821 boys and 1,270 girls, the male to female ratio reached 2:1. Besides, 375 minority students from 28 ethnic groups were admitted. On September 23, SEU will also welcome its autumn graduate freshmen of 2021 class. This year, SEU enrolled 7,168 fresh graduate students, including 6,258 masters and 910 doctors, of which 4,513 are males and 2,655 are females.

2021·SEU

There are some interesting facts about this year's freshmen. For example, although they come from different provinces, such as Anhui, Hunan, Liaoning, Sichuan, Hebei and Guangdong, all the 10 students of the gifted young talent program were born in 2006. Besides, a pair of twins from Tongling No.3 High School are now going to study together again in the Chien-Shiung Wu College. Among this year's excellent freshmen, 7 students got a full mark in Math, and 1 student got a full mark in English. It's also fantastic that 5 classmates from Class 24, Grade 12, Wuhu No.1 High School, are schoolmates now, as they were respectively admitted into the School of Computer Science and Engineering, Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence, the School of Cyber Science and Engineering, the School of Architecture and the School of Civil Engineering. Some students also met their namesakes at SEU, e.g., there are three students named "Wang Yuxuan", three named "Zhang Chi", and three named "Zhang Han" admitted to SEU. What's more, the amazing story of Sun Weiwei's family caught our eyes. Graduated from Nanjing Jinling High School, Sun is now admitted into the Chien-Shiung Wu College, becoming the fifth SEU student in her family.

School leaders including Zuo Wei, Secretary of the University Party Committee, Zhang Guangjun, President of SEU, Zheng Jiamao, Deputy Secretary of the University Party Committee, Huang Dawei and Wu Gang, Vice Presidents, and Liu Pan, Deputy Secretary of the University Party Committee, visited Jiulonghu Campus, Sipailou Campus and Dingjiaqiao Campus to welcome the freshmen respectively.

SEU/NEW TERM

SEU has been actively prepared for the autumn semester. Before the orientation day, SEU had drafted plans for students to return school in staggered time slots, urged students to report their health status and traveling routes, and reviewed carefully students' qualification of returning to school for approval. Relevant SEU departments also formulated and released Registration Instructions for 2021 Freshman Class of SEU and New Student Guidelines of the 2021 Autumn Semester to provide students with details of returning procedures, prevention and control policies, as well as precautions after returning. On the orientation day, all student affair officers were in place, and counselors of each major were on duty near the gates of Jiulonghu Campus in case of emergencies, ensuring the stable and orderly registration process.

To facilitate registration, the SEU had provided the professional training on COVID-19 prevention and control for medical staffs, drafted sound emergency plans, implemented training and drills, stored sufficient resources, and established a joint prevention and control mechanism. Besides, information technologies were also adopted to safeguard the physical examination of students.

With gate sentries and integrated patrols deployed at gates, main streets, dormitory railings and major buildings, an effective defense network involving multi departments was well established to fight against COVID-19. To eliminate possible security hazards, all the cars and people trying to enter the campus would be checked and investigated carefully, and the intensity and frequency of patrols in key places and crowded places would be enhanced. In addition, SEU also required security staffs to greet every new student, ask if any help is needed, help students with baggage and guide the orderly entry into the campus throughout the admission procedure, that is, "one greeting, one query, one help and one guidance".

Students were welcomed at Nanjing Railway Station, Nanjing South Railway Station, Lukou Airport and the entrance of SEU Jiulonghu Campus subway station, where shuttle buses bounded for dormitories were waiting for them. At the same time, their baggage was directly transported and distributed to respective storage site by the Baggage Office. 

In order to create a comfortable living environment for students, the accommodation infrastructure has been overhauled by SEU in advance, such as timely changing locks, switches and light tubes, and thoroughly repairing, cleaning, disinfecting and tidying rooms. Moreover, all the 8 canteens in three campuses were open for extended hours during orientation (Taobei Canteen was open till 11 pm), providing dine-in and take-out services for students. To better safeguard their health, 6 supply posts were established along the route of registration to provide volunteers and incoming students with water, masks, disinfected wipes, hand gels, emergency medicines and other necessities. What's more, the campuses were decorated with diversified cultural and creative designs for students to take photos at the most exciting moment of entering the SEU.

Thousands of faculty and student volunteers have participated in the orientation for the 2021 class. They not only assisted with the whole registration procedure including check in, physical examination and baggage claim, but also introduced the history and campus of SEU and told stories about SEU, which created cordial atmosphere for students to better fit into the university environment. To ensure the safety of students as possible, about 200 Party members from the Department of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development and the University Party Committee volunteered to welcome incoming students at the stations. In the Jiulonghu Campus, staff and faculty volunteers served students with all-round consideration by guiding at the gate, maintaining order, helping with the entry process, carrying baggage, distributing materials, answering questions, etc.

Responding to pandemic control policies, parents were not allowed to enter the campus as before. As a part of remedies, the orientation scenes were broadcast live on Bilibili so that parents could share the excitement and joy online and better engage in this ceremonious event. Guided by the host, audiences enjoyed a virtual campus tour around the south gate of the University, the popular lush lawn, the library, Taoyuan Dormitories, etc. Besides, a flash mob was launched to welcome new students and send the folding fans and masks designed by SEU to parents. At the south gate of the Jiulonghu Campus, Sun Weiwei, a freshman, attracted everyone's attention, as she was accompanied by her SEU-graduated grandparents and parents. 

Photos by Hang Tian

Written by Tang Tang

Revised by Shu Yuan

Proofread by Melody Zhang

Edited by Luo Xinyi 

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