Welcome Week 2012 aims to build campus pride

Leaders of student organizations, under faculty advisement, are planning "Welcome Week," a series of interactive programs to engage first-year students, unify the campus body and boost university pride.

Anthony Crenshaw, assistant director for student organizations and leadership development, hopes Welcome Week 2012 will take place during the first week of the fall semester, he said. "Welcome Week right now is just an idea," he said.

Members of the Unifying Events Committee have been meeting every Monday to plan Welcome Week, Crenshaw said. The UEC started two years ago as the "game day committee" to promote football returning to campus. It is now composed of student organizations with a common goal of unifying students by planning activities, such as Homecoming and UR Thankful, Crenshaw said.

Many of the activities are geared toward first-year students, but the entire student body is invited to participate, Crenshaw said.

"Research shows that the first six weeks are critical in students becoming engaged in campus life and those feeling like a part of the community have proven to have school pride, high graduation rates and give back to the university post-grad," Crenshaw said.

Junior Brittney Quinones said the idea of Welcome Week came about during a UEC meeting where students struggled to answer one question: What does it mean to be a Richmond Spider? She represents Diversity Roundtable, an organization that promotes inclusion of minority groups on campus, at the meetings.

Welcome Week would have three main goals, said Quinones and junior Isaiah Bailey, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc. and Diversity Roundtable.

1: To develop engaging activities for the entire campus body

2. To foster a sense of community and cater to the diverse needs of the campus

3. To create a sense of pride in all realms of university life

"Welcome Week is designed to show people the different aspects of what we have going on at the university when all students are back on campus," Bailey said. "First-years will see hands-on engagement from student organizations that they were told about during orientation."

Although the planning is still underway, Quinones said members of the UEC hoped to feature a more interactive organization fair, an end-of-the-week concert, a pep rally and a cookout during Welcome Week.

"We want to start a tradition, so that people can be excited about participating for years to come," Quinones said.

"We want people to invest themselves into what the university has to offer so they can have a positive experience," Bailey said.

"There is no mold for what a Richmond Spider should be, but rather, students should be able to bring 100 percent of themselves to expand and define what a Spider is."

Members of the UEC hope to hold a cookout the first day of the fall semester to get all students together, Bailey said. "Some people move in Saturday and some on Sunday. Then, we have classes on Monday. There's no time in between to see all of your friends at once."

Members of the UEC want to stress that Welcome Week is still in its early stages and is subject to change, they said.

Students are encouraged to attend UEC meetings to be part of the planning process, Bailey said. Meetings are held at 5:15 p.m. Mondays in the Tyler Haynes Commons.

Contact staff writer Laila Hart at Laila.hart@richmond.edu