Welcome back to campus, Mustangs! Ed Board knows that in between moving into your new dorm or apartment and attending the frat row parties, it’s easy to forget all the little things that need to get taken care of before classes begin on the 17th.

First things first, you need to go by the Park n’ Pony office in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center to pick up your parking sticker so you don’t get any unnecessary tickets too early in the year. Bonus-the parking stickers are now removable so if you want to pretend that Daddy’s Bentley is your own for a day, you can do that without the hassle of a temporary pass.

After you’ve carefully placed the decal, go to the bookstore to buy your books for class. It gets busier closer to the first day of school, so Ed Board advises going as early as possible. On the other hand, you can also wait a day or two after classes start. Sometimes classes have texts the bookstore says are required, but the professor won’t actually use them in class. If you’ve got a little bit of time, you can also avoid long lines by purchasing your books from an online store.

If you are new on campus, Ed Board suggests walking around campus to locate your classes so you aren’t late on the first day.

By this time, you are probably going to be hungry, but the Hughes-Trigg Market is only open from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. If you haven’t discovered the beauty of Pony money, then now is the perfect time. Several restaurants around SMU accept this wonderful little card as payment for food, etc. You can view this list on http://smu.edu/auxiliaryservices/ponyexp/.

Now that your errands are out of the way, it’s time to do what you came here to do-have fun! Week of Welcome kicks off on Sunday with a picnic at 6 p.m. Another tip: take advantage of free food on campus whenever possible. There are at least two BBQ’s during WOW this year. Monday’s casino night is also a really fun time. WOW festivities will last until Wednesday.

Also, Ed Board knows it may not seem meaningful right now, but trust us on this one-go to Convocation and Rotunda Passage. Rotunda Passage leads into Convocation, and it begins at 4 p.m. on Aug. 16. It will be blazing hot outside, but those of us on Ed Board that didn’t attend really regret it. The Rotunda Passage is when your entire class walks through Dallas Hall, facing the campus. On graduation day, your class will walk through Dallas Hall again, except your back will be towards the campus. It will mean so much more on graduation if you’ve done it as a freshman.

Most of all, Ed Board wishes everyone a happy move-in day, and more importantly, a fun-filled year. Whether this is your first or last year on the Hilltop, enjoy it to the fullest because it flies by at lightning speed.