Media advisory/photo opp: Drone show, renovated residence halls highlight Welcome Weekend at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. – A drone show, renovated residence halls and tons of activities highlight Welcome Weekend as the University at Buffalo gets ready to welcome students for the fall semester.

New students will officially begin life at UB on Thursday, Aug. 24, when a majority of them move into their residence halls. That includes the return of nearly 1,000 residential students to the South Campus, where Clement and Goodyear halls will reopen following a year-long renovation project.

Residence halls on UB’s North and South campuses are at capacity, with 7,000 of UB’s approximately 30,000 students occupying the rooms. The students hail from 48 states and more than 100 countries.

Media are welcome to come to either North or South Campus to interview and/or get footage of students moving into their campus housing. The most move-in activity will occur Thursday morning beginning at 9 a.m. at Ellicott Complex on UB’s North Campus (see map link). Please note that media are not permitted to enter residence halls.

Thursday will include an on-campus job fair in Founders Plaza on the North Campus, while the Festival of Culture Uniting Students (FOCUS) at 8 p.m. kicks off with a student-led parade starting at Hayes Hall on the South Campus. A party at Goodyear Hall will follow.

The “Bulls Welcome Back Blast Drone Spectacular” is just one of many events scheduled this coming weekend as students return to campus.

“I am really looking forward to our opening week activities and the semester ahead,” says Brian Hamluk, UB’s vice president for student life. “The start of a new academic year always brings with it an energy to campus, new learning opportunities and the excitement associated with the start of a new school year.”

The weekend events include the return of a campus tradition, the human interlocking UB, starting at 8 p.m. Friday at UB Stadium on the North Campus. Several other signature events, like “Victor’s Glow Zone” dance party on Saturday night, will give students the opportunity to display what it means to be True Blue.

“In Student Life, we like to incorporate creative events to engage school spirit, connecting in different ways with our students,” says Trung Nguyen, assistant vice president for student engagement and success.

As for the Bulls Welcome Back Blast on Sunday night, the choreographed light show (from 9 to 9:15 p.m. Sunday at the Student Union Field, located between the UB Commons and Clemens Hall) will use illuminated drones to create patterns, logos, text and other aerial imagery for what should be an eye-catching display over Lake LaSalle filled with plenty of animated UB iconography.

The full calendar of events is posted on Student Life’s Student Guide website.

Classes for the fall semester begin on Monday, Aug. 28.