As the summer begins, students and faculty will encounter visitors, who will either be staying on campus for a while or for a few hours.

These visitors can be better known as campers, who will be experimenting with their talents and discovering new ways to enhance their skills.

According to a Daily Eastern News article published on March 28, more than 50 camps are held on campus each summer.

These camps can range from art camps to sports camps to cooking workshops for children.

Having camps at Eastern is a good way for the university to reach out to residents in the community, others from across the state and even parts of the country.

Children and teens will be experiencing campus life for their stay and will be more curious about the university.

High school students may want to even come here after they graduate because of their experiences through the summer programs.

The best that we can do as a campus community is to ensure that these visitors will enjoy their stay while they experience campus life.

Students may find it difficult to share an entire campus with others that they do not know who are most likely younger than them.

The campers may venture off to explore the campus and possibly get in people’s way or invade their personal space.

But students should not be misled about the campers that visit Eastern.

Most will not be the misbehaved children that people commonly think of whenever the phrase “summer camp” is mentioned.

Students should emphasize the needs of the campers and try to take their perspective in order to be more accepting of them.

Some campers may feel homesick while trying to figure out what to do in their camp program. Some may not be used to being away from home for a few days or a few weeks and have a difficult time adjusting to a new environment.

But other than some negatives about camps, they are also a good way to make friends and get to know other people.

Some of the programs may require campers to work as a group and get along with others, which can be a skill they could use in the future.

Most of us have had experience with going to summer camp or attending some sort of summer program when we were younger.

We may have had to deal with the same things that these campers will have to deal with.

What the Eastern community needs to do is to be more welcoming and not prejudge the visitors that will be coming or have already arrived.

Keep in mind that camps will benefit individuals.

Nothing is more important than ensuring that people visiting Eastern are both welcome and free to learn new techniques and life experiences.

Alesha Bailey is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected].