Gatlin’s eyes bulged as she strolled down Mill Street for her first Welcome Weekend.
At only nine weeks old, the golden retriever-mix puppy welcomed new and old Ohio University students, who introduced themselves to her and one another before the start of classes.
As the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song played in the background, accompanied by ’90s fashion, Gatlin’s owner, Nathan Walters, a senior studying civil engineering, reflected on his past four Welcome Weekends.
“As a freshman, you don’t know anyone, but now I can walk my dog down the street and go party to party,” Walters said, pointing to the rest of the four legged party-goers strolling the streets of Athens.
While every Welcome Weekend has varied for Walters, he said the suggestive signs seemed to be more prominent this year.
“That wasn’t here my freshman year,” he said.
For the freshmen who strolled down Mill Street for the first time, those signs caught their attention.
Abby Delp, a freshman studying biology and pre-physical therapy, thought the signs were shocking but was still looking forward to meeting new people.
Throughout the weekend, local law enforcement told students to take the derogatory signs down, though some were still up throughout the weekend.
Despite the signs and the rain, OU students were still getting to know each other and the bricks of Athens.
On Delp’s first day in Athens, she said she was shocked at how easy it was to go up to new people and introduce herself to them.
“I’m from Pittsburgh so I don’t know anybody here except my roommate so I was kind hoping to meet people especially in my major,” Delp said.
Delp added that even though there was a lot of glitter scattered on Mill Street, the four-hour drive from her hometown was worth it to come to her top school choice of OU.
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For some, the amount of people out celebrating the start of a semester was different than anything they had experienced before.
“There’s just way more people,” Chloe Blaser, a sophomore studying education, said. “You could say it’s way more lit.”
Blaser said she laughed at the fashion choices of her peers.
“Throughout the day, the girls all looked like crap. They were wearing sweatpants and T-shirts, and the guys looked nice throughout the whole day,” Blaser said. “And then at night, they’re just wearing jerseys so it swaps.”
Halle Siegel, a sophomore studying commercial photography, said the number of people out was similar to last year and said she loves the atmosphere.
“It’s like a hybrid between summer camp and a vacation,” Siegel said.
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