The swell of music that lifts the heart. Words of welcome, wisdom, and blessing. Soaring architecture. The unfamiliar but smiling faces of your new classmates.
The traditional welcoming ceremony for Yale College’s newest students is online this year, but many of the elements that have made the occasion meaningful and memorable for generations of students appear in the Opening Assembly Video for the Class of 2024.
The recorded ceremony, including short addresses by President Peter Salovey and Yale College Dean Marvin Chun, debuts Saturday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. ET on the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life website. After the first broadcast, students, their families and others can watch at their convenience on either Yale YouTube or the website of the Office for the Secretary and Vice President for University Life.
“For me, the beginning of a new academic year is always marked by the Yale College Opening Assembly,” said Salovey. “It celebrates the tremendous possibility and promise of a Yale education, and it honors our common purpose — to improve our world today and for future generations through outstanding education, scholarship, research, preservation, and practice.”
In addition to the remarks by the President and Dean, other traditional elements in the video include music played on the Newberry Memorial Organ in Woolsey Hall, the traditional site of the gathering of first-years, and a benediction by University Chaplain Sharon Kugler. In place of live music, performances by the Yale Glee Club and the a cappella groups Something Extra and Shades of Yale have been added to the video program. Personal photos submitted by incoming students will also be included in a special tribute to the Class of 2024. Another highlight is a “lyric music video” featuring images of iconic Yale spaces.
The Opening Assembly video was created by a team of talented individuals from the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life and the Office of Public Affairs and Communications.
The goal throughout has been to make the video ceremony “a joyous event,” said Secretary and Vice President for University Life Kimberly Goff-Crews, “one that will be memorable in marking the beginning of the students’ educational journey at Yale.”
