Camp Crimson welcomes transfer students with first Sooner experiences

From the in-your-face spirit tunnel at the beginning until singing the alma mater at the closing session, Camp Crimson doesn't stop throwing things at new students — sporadic dance parties, OU chants and roll calls that are a mix of pop songs, screams and chants.

One of these high-energy experiences is Crimson Chaos, the icebreaker to end all icebreakers.

In Crimson Chaos, anything goes. You have blue eyes? Go find three people with blue eyes and talk about your favorite cereal. Your high school mascot was an eagle? Throw up the wings and find other people from your flock.

Crimson Chaos is an icebreaker of intentionally ridiculous proportions that fosters early bonding between campers.

For the transfer session, Crimson Chaos is a different experience. Instead of campers talking about where they went to high school and what dorm tower they’re living in, they talk about the colleges they are coming from.

James Chiles, an incoming transfer student, is settling in for a big collegiate adjustment.

“I’m from Dallas, and I used to go to the University of Texas, but I switched over,” Chiles said. “A lot had to do with the debate team, but I also wanted a school where I could get more involved.”

Many of the transfer students were just overjoyed to finally be a Sooner. Colleen Neuman, a transfer student from Philadelphia, could only express how excited and nice everyone was at camp.

The camp’s namesake, Kyle Butcher, who made an announcement before Crimson Chaos started that he was launching a new transfer student association with a pending name, matched the high energy of the room.

“I want the founding students to have a hand in naming it,” Butcher said. “We can take whatever you guys want and make that the purpose of the group.”

While the transfer session only has 58 new Sooners in it, the energy of Crimson Chaos made it feel like 1,000 new Sooners.

Several aspects of the transfer session were changed from the original camp schedule to meet the needs of transfers, said Taylor Reames, multidisciplinary studies junior.

“What you have to understand is that these aren’t freshmen, so we can’t do all the same things that we do at the traditional session,” Reames said. “But it’s great to see how they are all still so excited.”

Nathan Robertson

Nathan is a former staff member of The Oklahoma Daily who worked as Campus Reporter.