The Village of Bluffton will see its annual population spike this weekend, beginning Friday, Aug. 24, with about 280 new first-year and transfer students moving onto the Bluffton University campus.

New student move-in, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, will open a weekend on which other Bluffton undergraduates will return to campus for the start of classes Monday, Aug. 27.
Capping the weekend, from 7-9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 26, both new and returning students will continue a fall semester-eve tradition with an ice cream social on Bluffton's Main Street.

"Fall Welcome" events are also planned on campus all next week, including the opening convocation at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 28, in Founders Hall.
Launching Bluffton's 2012-13 civic engagement theme, "Virtual Living: Technology's Impact on Culture and Learning," will be guest speaker Tobias Buckell, a New York Times best-selling science fiction author and Bluffton graduate.