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Activities welcome new students
By SUE WUETCHER
Reporter Editor
The countdown to the 2006-07 academic year starts today as freshmen begin checking into their residence halls. New students will take part in a variety of events during the weekend designed help them settle in before classes begin on Aug. 28.
Opening Weekend activities will begin in earnest tomorrow when President John B. Simpson welcomes new students and their families to the UB community during the official University Welcome Ceremony at 4:30 p.m. in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts, North Campus.
Earlier in the day, students can meet with representatives from UB student service departments, who will answer questions and distribute information about UB resources. They also may attend a job fair for on-campus jobs, open checking accounts with representatives from various local banks, attend an open house hosted by the Intercultural and Diversity Center or become a part of a human UB logo.
The New Student Picnic will follow the University Welcome Ceremony. Students and their families can enjoy a free chicken barbecue, to be served from 5:30-7 p.m. at Baird Point, North Campus, and mingle with UB faculty and staff, and meet other new students.
The Rockin' Rally—part pep rally, part concert—will be held at 7 p.m. in UB Stadium. The Gin Blossoms will perform.
On Saturday, students may take walking tours of campus, or bus trips to Niagara Falls and the Seneca Niagara Casino; the Niagara Falls outlet mall or the City of Buffalo.
Alan Berkowitz, a national expert on health and social issues, and popular speaker on college campuses, will meet with students to discuss "The Good News About College Students: Positive Behaviors, Potential Risks and Alcohol." Berkowitz will give two talks—at 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.—in the Student Union Theater.
The day's events will conclude with the "Welcome Back Bash" from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. in the Student Union. The bash will feature music, food and dancing in a foam pit.
Sunday's activities will include a special brunch and walking tour for commuter students, outdoor movies and a late-night breakfast in the Student Union Lobby.
Throughout the weekend, students and their families may participate in the ongoing project in the Student Union to create 5,000 peace flags to hang around campus as a special student welcome for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, who will visit UB Sept. 18-20.
Opening Weekend kicks off "September Welcome," a month-long series of campus-wide special events designed to celebrate the beginning of the academic year, as well as welcome new students to campus.
For a full listing of Opening Weekend activities, go to http://welcome.buffalo.edu/open.shtml.