By Kassondra Granata

As fall approaches, many anticipate the changes in the foliage and sweater weather. However, at CCSU, the season heralds the advent of the campus tour season and welcomes potential incoming students to our community.

The registration process for a campus tour is easy, and can be found on the CCSU website. Walk-ins are not encouraged, but the sign up sheet is simple and you receive a confirmation email letting you know where to go and what to do when you arrive on campus.

Jon Stankiewicz and I followed a tour Monday. Our group, with about 20 potential students and guardians, was quiet and did not ask many questions. Lasting two hours, the tour was very well organized and informative, leaving the attendees with information about the campus that I’d forgotten after two years as a student here.

I had forgotten there was a Wellness Center in Willard for counseling sessions and student help. Having to buy ink and other supplies for printing, it was also forgotten that the Technology Center provides $10 on your Blue Chip for printing purposes every semester.

Do a lot of us know that there is an observatory on top of Copernicus Hall?

At the beginning of the tour, all potential students and guardians met for a brief powerpoint presentation by a recruiter. Slides provided information for the application, the process for it and CCSU statistics. The recruiter was very professional and was open to questions offered by the parents and students. Potential students were put on the spot to state their name, what year they were, and where they were from.

Both of our tour guides, Sam and Courtney, were honors students and seniors at CCSU. They were very friendly and were really able to relate to the students. As the group went around campus, the guides provided valuable particulars about safety and displayed, to the prospective students, important landmarks such as the Health Center, Technology Center, CACE and a quick walk through Beecher Hall.

Parts of the tour that lacked representation was the presentation of the academic buildings. The only building showed was Vance Academic Center, the newest building. The only scenery the guides showed was the hallway, no classrooms. The tour went into the first floor of the newly renovated Elihu Burritt Library, but no attempt was made to go into the stacks or move into the library.

The walk through Beecher Hall only showed the hallway, not an actual dorm room. What would have been better would be a walk into an actual dorm room, seeing the actual living conditions, rather than a walk through an all boys floor hallway in Beecher Hall. The guides even said that the tour may not even see a room since the boys living on the floor had no obligation to have their doors open.

From the perspective of an incoming freshman exploring schools, CCSU was portrayed as a safe, close community school with many places to go for help. Sam and Courtney provided useful direction and left the attendees fully satisfied with no unanswered questions.