UA bids 'willkommen' to high school students

The day allowed students who take German and their teachers to visit the campus and attend classes offered by the department.

Approximately 140 high school students, ranging from freshmen to seniors, attended from Cholla, Rincon, Amphitheater and Flowing Wells high schools, said Albrecht Classen, German professor.

Throughout the day, high school students attended German courses and general education courses offered by the department, met with faculty members and spoke to University of Arizona students about their experiences with the department.

The day's events ended with lunch on the Mall and a game of Earthball.

The government of the Federal Republic of Germany sponsored the first-time event through an outreach grant that it awarded to Classen.

Classen organized the event and is the former president of the Arizona Chapter of the American Association of Teachers of German.

The German Consulate in Los Angeles, the German Tourist Office in New York City and the Goethe Institute in Houston donated the buttons, books and other items the German Department handed out to the students.

UA sponsors were the Dean of Humanities and the Department of German Studies.

"Germany has one of the biggest economies in the world," Classen said.

"German is an important language. Germans travel all over," he said.

"If you go to the Grand Canyon, you need to speak Japanese or German."

Seven hundred students at the UA study German, Classen said.

He estimated that German is spoken in 1,500 homes in Tucson.

In the United States, 1.5 million people speak German as their native language and 54 million people claim German heritage.

"Spanish is not the only alternative language to learn," Classen said.

The students who attended the Campus Day said they enjoyed their experiences.

"It was fun," said Pancha Camacho, a freshman at Cholla.

"I learned a couple of things. It's really easy to get lost here."

Jason Smith, a sophomore from Cholla, said that his favorite activity of the day was going online in the computer lab.

"It gave us a chance to look around," said Emily Hata-Galligan, sophomore at Amphitheater.

"I liked the psychology class we went to. It's nice to know there are classes you can think about, keep in mind in the back of your head, for when you get here."