Month of Welcome Helps Students Make Transition to Campus Life

When students arrive for the fall semester at the University of Mississippi, a much larger than usual slate of fun and engaging activities – more than 75 in all – await to help them meet new friends and enjoy their transition into the Ole Miss family.

The Ole Miss Student Union and Student Activities Association has assisted in coordinating a weeklong schedule of events for Welcome Week. But this year, through collaborations with various departments within Student Affairs and across campus, the schedule of events has been expanded to include an entire month’s worth of activities dubbed the Month of Welcome.

The Month of Welcome begins Tuesday (Aug. 16) and runs through Sept. 15.

Upon moving into their residence halls, students can socialize with their peers at events coordinated by the Residence Hall Association. They also will have an opportunity to explore the Turner Center and many of the activities offered by the Department of Campus Recreation from 8 p.m. to midnight Thursday (Aug. 18) at Splash into Ole Miss.

The university welcomes the Class of 2020 with a kickoff picnic, followed by a pep rally featuring the Pride of the South marching band, cheerleaders and Rebelettes, at 4:45 p.m. Friday (Aug. 19) in the Pavilion at Ole Miss.

As Welcome Week kicks off, the SAA will host events ranging from Laser Tag and Silent Disco in the Grove to a reduced ticket show with comedian Lewis Black, set for 7:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts.

The annual Fall Convocation is slated for 7 p.m. Aug. 23 at The Pavilion at Ole Miss, where the freshman class and transfer students are officially welcomed to the university.

The always-popular Ballpit with Strangers on the Union Plaza, happening each day of the first week of classes, is a collaboration between the SAA, Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and One Mississippi. Other events during Welcome Week include the Get Involved Fair, Aug. 23-24 in the Circle, where registered student organizations recruit new members and promote their respective organizations.

Following Welcome Week, the events and activities continue with a watch party in the Grove at 7 p.m. Labor Day as the Rebels take on Florida State at the Camping World Kickoff in Orlando.

The Center for Inclusion and Cross Cultural Engagement kicks off its events at 11:30 a.m. Aug. 30 in the Student Union Ballroom, with an African-American Male Networking Luncheon as well as a dialogue series with conversations on first-generation students, set for noon Aug. 31 in Stewart Hall, Room 129. The center is also coordinating events during the Hispanic Heritage Month in September.

Events surrounding the first home game Sept. 10 include Everybody’s Tent in the Grove sponsored by the Associated Student Body, the annual freshman Rebel Run before kickoff against Wofford, and the Green Grove Initiative sponsored by the Office of Sustainability.

Opportunities abound for students to get plugged in once they arrive on campus. For more information regarding the Month of Welcome, visit http://union.olemiss.edu or email union@olemiss.edu.

Courtesy of Bradley Baker and Ole Miss News Desk