ABSTRACT
North Dakota State University (NDSU) is a public, land-grant, primarily White, research institution. The large group session was NDSU’s first ever mandatory presentation included in welcome week. The purpose of the large group session was to demonstrate NDSU’s commitment to creating a culture of belonging, have students identify the difference between fitting in and belonging, and help students understand their responsibility in stewarding that culture. The welcome week schedule was reformatted so that students spent significant amounts of time with their residence hall communities. The NDSUbelong committee recognized deficiencies in the current welcome week structure with regard to specialized programming for students with diverse racial backgrounds. NDSU also hosted the first welcome week for students of color social to create opportunities for incoming Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) students to begin building community. At the event, students were given information on campus resources and time to connect with BIPOC student organizations.
