The sudden flood of work in the second week feels less like learning and more overwhelmingThe free pizza is gone, the spirit rallies have ended and the paint from Welcome Week is barely dry. For a lot of first-years, it’s a jarring realization: the university “welcome” isn’t about easing you in — it’s about testing how much you can take. This harsh welcome isn’t just stressful — it’s demoralizing. Endless assignments don’t build stronger students — they build tired ones. The harsh welcome of overload doesn’t have to define the university experience.