The Alderidge Ledger | Alderidge University

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Den Week

Den Week Brings a New Class to the Ridge

Alderidge's annual opening-week tradition returned as Greenhorns moved into Southgate, returning students filled the Lower Green and Den Week officially marked the beginning of another academic year on the Ridge.

FRANK: Alderidge University welcomed its newest class this week as Den Week began across campus, bringing first-year students into residence halls, orientation programs, student events and the traditions that have long marked the start of the fall semester.

Den Week serves as both orientation and introduction to Alderidge life. Greenhorns spend the week learning the university's five campus districts, meeting residence staff and classmates, attending required sessions and taking part in a wider schedule of student programming, organization events and school traditions.

Southgate was among the busiest areas during the opening days, with residence halls filling throughout move-in as students and families worked through check-in, room assignments and the first round of hall meetings. By the afternoon, much of that activity had shifted toward the Lower Green as students moved between Parker Student Center, Hart & Hearth Dining Hall and other gathering spaces.

The week will continue with orientation sessions, residence programming, campus traditions and the Lower Green organization fair before the first full days of classes begin.

By Johan Frank

Continued on Page 3 →

Campus

Move-In Crowds Slow Southgate Shuttle Service

Heavy Den Week traffic around Southgate pushed shuttle waits beyond their usual pace as students, families and luggage crowded stops serving the Lower Green and Old Ridge.

Student Life

Lower Green Fair Expands as Organization Registration Climbs

Higher-than-expected registration has pushed this week's organization fair beyond its usual footprint, with additional tables planned along the Parker Student Center walkway and the edge of the Lower Green.

Student media, performance groups, academic societies and recreational clubs are preparing demonstrations and recruitment events as Greenhorns make their first major pass through Alderidge's organization scene.

Athletics

Kingsmen Return to Full Training Ahead of Sinclair Opener

The Kingsmen returned to full-squad sessions at Stag Stadium this week as Alderidge cricket begins its final preparations for the fall opener against the Sinclair University Lions.

Sinclair, a longtime regional opponent from western New York, arrives with an experienced batting order and a reputation for aggressive early overs, giving Alderidge an immediate test after a summer spent rotating younger players through development sessions.

The match will also be the Kingsmen's first competitive appearance since renovations were completed inside Stag Stadium's locker, training and support areas. Coaches are expected to use the final week of practice to settle the opening lineup and bowling rotation before match day.

Inside

Inside This Week's Ledger

This week's edition continues with Den Week coverage, campus developments, student organization activity, fall athletics, Studio 7, STAG Radio, student creative work and other stories from across the Ridge.

Arts & Culture

Studio 7 Rehearsal Schedule Fills Early for Fall

Studio 7's fall calendar has tightened quickly as Breakline, Hart Company and student theatre groups return to rehearsal, leaving several evening blocks heavily contested ahead of the semester's first performances.

Page 2Campus

Latest From the Ridge

Campus

Campus Services

Alderidge Extends Campus Services Through Den Week Rush

By Wanda Bell

BELL: Alderidge has extended hours and added staff at several student services this week as move-in and Den Week brought heavier traffic back to campus.

Parker Student Center has added evening coverage at its information and student-service desks, while Hart & Hearth Dining Hall has returned to its full fall schedule to handle the increase in students moving through the Lower Green. Miller Library has also restored its extended student hours ahead of the first week of classes.

The Ridge Shuttle Loop has been one of the busiest services so far. Additional runs were added between Southgate, the Lower Green and Old Ridge after move-in traffic slowed service earlier in the week. Stops near the residence halls remained crowded through much of the afternoon as students moved between check-in, orientation sessions and other campus errands.

Student support offices have also seen more walk-in traffic than usual. ID replacement, account access, enrollment questions and residence paperwork have kept service desks busy as Greenhorns finish the last administrative steps before classes begin.

The extended Den Week schedule is expected to remain in place through the weekend before most offices return to their regular fall hours. The heaviest traffic continues to center around Southgate and the Lower Green, where move-in, orientation and student programming are still underway.

Facilities

Mercer Opens New Shared Lab Space in East Yards

Mercer Interdisciplinary Research Center opened a new shared laboratory wing this week, expanding space for cross-department projects involving engineering, health sciences and the natural sciences. The new rooms include flexible lab benches, equipment stations and project areas designed for teams working across multiple departments.

Student Services

ID Office Extends Hours After Den Week Backlog

Alderidge's student ID office added evening hours this week after long lines formed during Greenhorn check-in. Staff are processing first-time cards, replacements and account corrections as students finish enrollment and residence requirements ahead of the first day of classes.

Page 3Student Life

Across Campus

Student Life

← Continued from Page 1

Den Week

Greenhorns Move Deeper Into Den Week Traditions

FRANK: With move-in largely complete, Den Week has shifted from arrival and check-in toward the events, traditions and student programs that introduce Greenhorns to life across Alderidge.

The week is designed to give first-year students their first look at the university beyond residence assignments and class schedules. Orientation sessions continue throughout the day, but much of the activity now centers on residence communities, student organizations and the traditions that return each fall with the incoming class.

Southgate residence halls have begun their first round of floor meetings, welcome events and hall competitions, giving students an early chance to meet the people they will be living with through the semester. Resident advisers are also using the week to introduce hall expectations, shared-space rules and the routines that shape daily life in the residence district.

Den Week programming extends well beyond Southgate. Greenhorns are moving through district tours, academic introductions and campus events across Old Ridge, the Lower Green and the East Yards, with each part of the week intended to make the university feel more familiar before classes begin.

The Lower Green organization fair will become one of the week's largest student-life events, bringing campus media, performance groups, academic societies, athletics and recreational clubs into the same space for an afternoon of recruitment and demonstrations.

School spirit also becomes more visible as the week goes on. Den Week shirts, residence colors and university traditions begin appearing across campus, while returning students and student organizations take a larger role in welcoming the incoming class.

Organizations

Student Groups Shift Recruitment Beyond Lower Green Fair

Several Alderidge organizations are expanding recruitment beyond this week's Lower Green fair, adding open meetings, workshops and small-group events during the first two weeks of the semester.

The broader approach is especially common among performance groups, campus media and academic societies that want prospective members to see what regular participation looks like before committing. Some groups are using the fair primarily as an introduction, then directing interested students toward rehearsals, editorial meetings or department-specific events later in the week.

Organization leaders say the change also gives students who miss the fair another way to get involved. Evening sessions and smaller interest meetings have been scheduled across Parker Student Center, Studio 7 and several academic buildings.

Most groups will continue accepting new members after Den Week, though audition-based and application-based organizations may close their first fall recruitment rounds earlier.

Residence Life

Southgate Halls Adjust Quiet Hours for Den Week

Southgate residence halls are operating under modified quiet-hour schedules this week as late Den Week programming, floor events and move-in activity continue into the evening.

Resident advisers have been asked to balance the temporary schedule with students already trying to settle into sleeping, studying and shared-room routines. Hall meetings this week have focused heavily on noise expectations, guest policies and how common spaces will be used once the regular semester schedule begins.

The changes are temporary, but they have given first-year students an early look at how much of residence life is managed at the hall level. Individual buildings set much of their own evening programming, floor expectations and community schedules within broader university housing rules.

Normal quiet hours are expected to return after Den Week as Southgate shifts from move-in events and welcome programming into the regular fall routine.

Page 4Athletics

North Fields

Athletics

Game Day

Whitehorns Carry Summer Momentum Toward Season Opener

By Harold Talbot

TALBOT: The Alderidge Whitehorns will open their season within the next two weeks after closing their summer scrimmage slate with a 12-11 win over the Hammerheads at Morrow Field.

The final scrimmage gave Alderidge a difficult test from the opening whistle. The Whitehorns built an early lead, but the Hammerheads tightened defensively, disrupted passing lanes and slowly worked their way back into the game.

By the late stages, neither side could pull clear. Alderidge saw several attacking chances turned aside around the crease, while the Hammerheads continued to threaten on quick breaks and second-chance possessions.

The Hammerheads eventually tied the game at 11 after forcing a turnover and pushing immediately downfield. The equalizer left Alderidge with little margin for error and only enough time for a handful of final possessions.

Rather than forcing a shot, the Whitehorns held the ball outside and waited for an opening. Their first attempt through the middle was shut down, sending the play back toward the perimeter.

Ewan Ravelle received the ball on the right side, cut toward the center and found just enough room between two defenders to release a shot through traffic. The attempt beat the Hammerheads keeper and gave Alderidge the 12-11 advantage.

The Whitehorns' sideline spilled toward the boundary as Ravelle was surrounded by teammates near the crease. The Hammerheads managed one final advance, but Alderidge's defense stopped the possession before another clean shot developed.

The narrow win exposed areas Alderidge will still want to clean up before the opener. The Hammerheads created problems in transition, forced turnovers and repeatedly made the Whitehorns work for space in settled offense.

It also gave Alderidge a strong late-game test. The Whitehorns surrendered a lead, answered after the score was tied and finished the deciding possession without rushing the final attempt.

Ravelle's winner adds another talking point around a program that enters every season under heavy expectations. The summer result will disappear from the record once official play begins, but the final minutes against the Hammerheads gave Alderidge an early look at the kind of pressure it will face once the season starts.

Whitehorns12

Hammerheads11

Summer Scrimmage · Final · Ravelle scores winner

Training

AADP Standouts Push Into Fall Team Plans

Several athletes coming out of Alderidge's summer Athletics Development Program have carried that momentum into fall training, with coaches across North Fields beginning to work them into regular team sessions.

Santana Mendoza has moved into a larger role with the Goldhorns after a strong summer in basketball development, while Briar Ravelle has joined Whitehorns training as coaches evaluate depth across the lacrosse roster. In the Aquatic Center, Ryan Vargas has continued working with the Riptides after standing out during summer conditioning and pool sessions.

The AADP is designed to give developing athletes additional coaching, conditioning and position-specific work during the summer, but the fall transition is where that progress begins to matter. Players who impressed during the program are now competing for practice roles, travel spots and places deeper in their respective rotations.

Facilities

Summer Upgrades Open at Stag Stadium, Aquatic Center

Athletes returning to North Fields this fall are beginning to use several facility upgrades completed over the summer, including renovated team areas inside Stag Stadium and a new hydrotherapy section at the Alderidge Aquatic Center.

The Stag Stadium work focused on the Kingsmen's locker, training and support spaces, replacing older team areas and reorganizing rooms used for preparation, equipment and recovery around the cricket program.

At the Aquatic Center, the new hydrotherapy section expands recovery and rehabilitation options for the Riptides and other Alderidge athletes who train in the complex. The addition is now in regular use as fall practices resume across North Fields.

Page 5Arts & Culture

Studio 7

Arts & Culture

Cover Story

Studio 7 Schedule Tightens as Fall Productions Enter Rehearsal

Studio 7 entered the fall semester with much of its evening rehearsal calendar already claimed, as dance, ballet and theatre groups returned to work on the first round of student productions and showcases.

Breakline and Hart Company are among the groups back in regular rehearsal, while student theatre productions have begun reserving adjacent rooms for scene work, ensemble rehearsals and technical preparation. The overlap has left some of the building's most requested evening blocks booked several days in advance.

The busiest hours begin in the late afternoon, when academic classes give way to rehearsals and performers begin moving between studios. Groups that could not secure their preferred times have shifted into earlier blocks, later rehearsals or shorter sessions spread across multiple days.

The crowded schedule has also made shared space more important. Hallways, warm-up areas and open rooms are regularly used between calls as performers review choreography, run lines or wait for the previous group to clear a studio.

That proximity has long been part of Studio 7's culture. Dance and theatre groups often work within sight of one another, and students involved in more than one production may move directly from one rehearsal into another over the course of an evening.

The current schedule is expected to remain tight through the opening weeks of the semester as groups establish their regular rehearsal blocks and begin moving toward their first public performances. For now, most of that work is happening out of public view, as groups use the opening weeks of the semester to build toward the first performances of the fall.

Music

DJ4X/M4RIO Set for Live STAG Radio Interview

Jaxon Green and Mario Fuentes will sit down with STAG Radio for a live interview on their work as DJ4X/M4RIO, including recent studio sessions, their collaborative process and the sound they have built together.

The conversation will air live on WALD 93.1 FM, with an extended interview feature planned for the Ledger following the broadcast.

Performance

Fashion Club Prepares Summer Collection for Fall Showcase

Alderidge Fashion Club is preparing a student-designed collection developed over the summer for its first public presentation of the fall, bringing together original garments, styling and visual work created across several months of fittings and studio sessions.

The collection includes work from student designers alongside photography, modeling and production support from members outside the club's core design team, turning the project into one of the group's largest collaborative efforts of the year.

Culture

November Arts Fundraiser Opens Early Planning

Alderidge's Arts Department has opened the first planning phase for its annual November fundraiser, beginning performer outreach, alumni invitations and sponsor coordination several weeks ahead of the event.

The fundraiser is one of the department's largest sources of private support and has traditionally drawn alumni from families with long ties to Alderidge's arts programs.

Organizers are now working through the first round of performance proposals and student showcases while alumni and donor lists are being assembled. Additional details, including the final program and guest schedule, are expected to be announced later in the semester.

Page 6Ads

Classifieds & Notices

Ads

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housing

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November Arts Fundraiser

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Northline Diner

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