In grand Golden Hawk tradition, Wilfrid Laurier University will be officially ringing in the 2018-2019 school year with a week of spirited festivities.
Orientation week is the best way for incoming first-years to get comfortable and acquainted with Laurier, as well as welcoming back returning students.
Icebreakers, who are Laurier’s O-Week student ambassadors, have been busy all summer preparing for Sunday and Monday’s move-in days that will commence orientation for first-years.
“An icebreaker is kind of like a mentor; someone they can look up to, someone they can ask questions to, someone that can give them advice”, said Adam Rezkalla, one of the Head Icebreakers for the red team this year.
Volunteers’ preparations for O-Week began at O-Con, which is a mid-summer training session for Icebreakers that involved several days of team-building activities and safety seminars.
“It’s a really good way for teams to bond”, Rezkalla stated.
Executive teams from both Brantford and Waterloo campuses are responsible for creating an O-Week theme each year. This year’s theme is “Where Your Legend Begins”, and first-years that participate will be placed into teams by colour.
This year’s scheduled events will include Drake night, a headphone disco, a carnival, a cheer off, and some special guest performers; Wes Barker, a stunt magician and comedian, hypnotist Jeff West, and mentalist Wayne Hoffman from America’s Got Talent.
Toronto-based hip-hop recording artist NAV will be hosted by A-Team Laurier in the Athletic Complex on Tuesday night.
Tickets for this show will be sold separately from orientation week packages, are only made available to Laurier students and are $30 each.
“We are ensuring that our program is much more targeted [this year] and it doesn’t give an overwhelming sensation to the students,” said Tarique Plummer, President of the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union.
“We’re much more focused on the quality of the program rather than trying to do a lot of things in a short time period.”
“Last year we had back-to-back opening ceremonies for students on one day. This year we have an opening ceremony on the Sunday when students move in, and on Monday when the next set of students move in,” he said.
“[We’re also] paying more attention to the mental and the physical health of our volunteers, something that we are very much mindful of and looking into”, Plummer stated, and Laurier’s O-week consists of various informative events for all students.
Positive Pulse will be returning this year on Tuesday to give students the information they need for maintaining physical and mental wellness.
The Room Burn, a live demonstration of a dorm room being lit on fire, will also be back on Tuesday and presented by the Waterloo Fire Department and SHERM Laurier.
Laurier’s Get Involved Fair, taking place on Friday morning, will give students the opportunity to check out the wide variety of clubs, committees, teams and services that Laurier has to offer.
The Shinerama fundraiser for cystic fibrosis will also play a big role at Laurier’s O-week with several events taking place such as the Shine BBQ, Shine Time and Shine Day, at which all proceeds from each will go towards fighting CF in Canada.
“Our marketing team, specifically for orientation week, have been continuously providing first-year students with updates and introducing them to key individuals, whether it be your head icebreaker or ice breaking team or colours”, Plummer added.
“Students should be amped about what they’ll be involved in”.
A full O-Week itinerary is available online on the Students’ Union website.
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