EDITORIAL: Welcome to the Class of '03

Congratulations on your decision to attend Penn. We look forward to seeing you on Locust Walk this fall. We hope you'll take a moment to flip through our introduction to campus -- we've worked hard to provide you with a primer on University City life. Elsewhere on this page, you'll find assorted reflections on the freshman experience. But we, the 115th Editorial Board of the DP, are here in a much simpler role. Consider us the welcoming committee, the first to say hello, to let you know that the next four years of your life will be an adventure filled with love, laughter, tears and new experiences. And if we're not the first to tell you that College is all about freedom, consider us the latest to do so. All of a sudden, decisions are yours to make, opportunities yours to seize and responsibility yours as well. Those of you living in Hill College House and the Quadrangle will see the first results of a massive overhaul of Penn's dormitory and dining facilities which will be in progress throughout your tenure here. And you'll be the second class to live in college houses, the residential communities where you'll spend much of your time. But don't feel like you're entering a hard hat zone -- the fruits of other construction projects are now ready for you to enjoy. Crowning the list is Sansom Common, a retail-and-hotel complex anchored by the University Bookstore and a coffee shop called Xando we promise you'll come to know. And then there is Perelman Quadrangle, a spanking new student center of considerable size that will be opening in time for your sophomore years. Another project just breaking ground will be done before you leave campus -- a new multi-screen cinema and supermarket at the campus' western edge. Our basketball and football teams are top-notch, and the storied Palestra and Franklin Field will soon seize your imagination as well. A world of opportunity will open before your eyes this fall. So enjoy your summer, pack your bags and look forward to New Student Orientation. We'll see you on Locust Walk.