Media Advisory: UB welcomes new students, prepares for start of new academic year

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Welcome back!

About 29,000 students return to the University at Buffalo starting Aug. 23, and UB has a variety of Welcome Weekend events and programs aimed at helping them greet the new academic year.

Students will begin moving into their residence halls on the North and South campuses on Thursday and throughout the weekend, assisted by faculty, staff and student volunteers, as well as members of the UB football team, who will be taking a break from early season practice to help.

The marquee event of Welcome Weekend — the traditional Interlocking UB photo — will take place on Friday as part of the New Student Welcome, beginning at 3 p.m. in UB Stadium. The event includes welcome remarks from campus leaders — among them President Satish K. Tripathi and A. Scott Weber, vice president for student life — and Playfair, a large-scale, interactive icebreaker. It will culminate with students — all wearing UB T-shirts — coming together to form the university’s logo in UB Stadium.

Other events include Campus Fest from 2:30-5 p.m. Saturday outside the Student Union on the North Campus, a student clubs/organizations fair plus festival and street party; and “Academic Connection” talks designed to help students succeed in their first year from 1-3 p.m. Sunday in Knox Hall on the North Campus presented by UB faculty members.

Other activities include UB Pride and Service Day, during which students spend Saturday morning taking part in community service projects in Buffalo neighborhoods; dog therapy and demonstrations of other stress-relief techniques; kayaking and canoeing on Lake LaSalle; campus walking tours; an on-campus job fair; and “How to UB” sessions.

The entire Welcome Weekend schedule is available here: https://orientation.buffalo.edu/files/welcomeWeekendSchedule2018.pdf.