To the Class of 2027,

Welcome home! While it may not feel like it yet, in a few months, campus and Hyde Park will begin feeling like a home away from home. New places you haven’t even seen yet will become your go-to areas to meet up with friends, cafés you don’t even know exist will become favorite places for studying or study breaks, and the strangers that surround you now will become the community that embraces you over the next four years. But all of that comes later; right now, you might be confused, tired, and nervous. All of those feelings are completely understandable. O-Week is a whirlwind. And while it may feel as though you have to go to all of the O-Week events and attend every RSO information session, our best advice to you is to take time to get to know the people around you.

Community makes the college experience, and that is especially true here at UChicago. While you may not meet your closest friends during O-Week, or even during your first year, every person you do meet will in some way add to your experience as a member of the community—or communities—to which you belong on campus.

As is tradition in these letters, we will shamelessly plug The Maroon. Whether you wish to make an impact on the University or South Side community; develop your skills as a writer, editor, photographer, illustrator, designer, podcaster, coder, or financial analyst; or just join a great group of people to hang out with, we encourage you to consider joining us.

To the returning second-, third-, and fourth-years, welcome back. While returning to campus is a less daunting experience than first arriving, each class will face a new set of challenges. For second-years, these may be stepping into new roles in RSOs and communities, narrowing down your major, or reestablishing the connections you made last year. For third-years, many of you will be living off campus for the first time, and with that comes the challenges of maintaining your own space and yourself while staying connected to friends who have gone from living down the hall to living on the other side of Hyde Park. And to our fellow fourth-years, as we embrace our final year as undergraduates, dramatic changes loom on the horizon. Some of us will be writing theses, and many of us will be preparing for what comes next, whether it be graduate school, fellowships, or full-time jobs.

Through it all, we think about the stories we read in our very first O-Issue and the advice passed down from one generation of Maroon staff to another. This is our official welcome and gift to you. Let these pages serve as your guide to campus, a companion you can rely on as you navigate the challenges and celebrate the successes that inevitably await you. We’re so excited to tell your success stories—and to see you write your own—over your next four years.

Solana Adedokun and Nikhil Jaiswal, editors-in-chief
Michael McClure, managing editor