On Thursday, Camp Crimson participants met in Oklahoma Memorial Union for a barbecue with faculty and staff.

At 6 p.m., members of the OU band began playing "Boomer Sooner" as a sea of students walked in from the heat to get some food. Over 500 students are attending Camp Crimson this session. Another group of campers will be on campus next week.

"I love the food," said Jay Doyle, a member of the Camp Crimson crew.

The food setup was provided by Housing and Food Services.

Clarence Scott, a member of the orientation staff, said the barbecue was a chance for freshmen to get to know more about the university.

"This interaction will hopefully begin to provide networks for the students so they feel comfortable here at OU," Scott said.

Scott said all OU faculty members were invited and any faculty in attendance were supposed to move from table to table so campers could see that the faculty also have lives outside of class.

Jesse Agyemang, Camp Crimson counselor, said he was enjoying the barbecue.

"It's going great," Agyemang said before he took a large bite of his brisket sandwich. "The activities of the camp go by so fast, this barbecue is providing a great opportunity for campers to get to know their counselors, as well as other campers."

Camp Crimson Director Zac Stevens said, "We just want to make sure that the campers have plenty of time to interact with the staff."

One important aspect of the camp is teaching traditions to new students.

Thomas Gibson, an incoming freshman from Mesquite, Texas, said both of his parents went to the University of Texas, so he really did not know any of the traditions for OU. "I've learned a few things so far, but right now I'm just interested in getting to know this barbecue," Gibson said.

Dusty Newport, a microbiology sophomore, said the counselors were staying in the dorms and it is a great way to get to know the students.

Newport also said that the barbecue was a good way for the campers to get out of their circle and meet other counselors and campers.

All campers are divided into different groups. Each group belongs to a family and each family belongs to an even larger namesake group.

Newport said, "For most of the camp, the campers will only get to interact with the people in their group. By having this barbecue, the students get a chance to talk to anyone in the camp, either camper or staff."
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