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Current students helped first years carry their boxes and bags. Parents placed family photos on clean dresser tops, where they hoped they would stay. Pets and younger siblings wondered what to make of the fuss. And everyone ate ice cream.

On move-in day at �Ա���Ƶ, admission brochures come alive. There’s campus beauty, school spirit, and a close-knit community of faculty and staff offering advice at the ice cream social. Brand new academic building sparkle alongside the oldest residence halls whose stone was quarried by hand by �Ա���Ƶ’s founders nearly 200 years ago.

(Click for photos from arrival day and orientation.)

And some traditions, like the Polk family’s connection to �Ա���Ƶ, are just a few years old.

Today, Cheryl Polk of St. Louis dropped off her youngest son, Charles, a proud member of the Class of 2016. As she had done twice before when dropping off each of her older children — Clarissa Polk ’10 and Caden Polk ’12 — she asked all three to pose for a family photo. This year there are three �Ա���Ƶ banners.

Next week, Clarissa goes back to school as well. She is working on a dual degree in law and Chinese language and history at Washington University in St. Louis. Today, she was a proud big sister. “�Ա���Ƶ was amazing; I loved it. Caden had a great experience here. And now I’m really happy that Charles will have the opportunities that we both had before him.”