When Nate Hoopes moved to St. George from Provo, he was happy to find that the Dixie State University campus offered more activities during just the first week of school than he ever saw back in his hometown.
DSU kicked off the 2016 fall semester with the annual Week of Welcome, put on by the DSU Student Association from Aug. 22 through Aug. 26. The Week of Welcome featured a variety of activities held throughout the first week of school, including a carnival on Tuesday, Club Rush and a show featuring comedian Jessi Campbell from Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, Club Rush again on Thursday, and the Foam Dance on Friday.
Hoopes, a sophomore psychology major from Provo, and his friends Carly Randall, a sophomore general education major from Provo, and Rachel Harvey, a freshman general education major from Provo, felt that the week of activities had been entertaining so far and wouldn’t change anything about the events.
“I feel like there’s always a ton [of activities],” Hoopes said. “There’s always something happening here.”
Northern Utah schools don’t ever seem to have activities this big, Harvey said.
Randall agreed and said, “[The DSU campus] is a fun environment.”
This “fun environment” is what DSUSA was aiming for with the Week of Welcome, said Colton “Moses” Campbell, a junior integrated studies major from St. George and DSUSA vice president of public relations.
“We know that it’s always a little hectic starting a new school year, with new classes and classmates, and for a lot of students, it is their first time out on their own,” Campbell said. “With our Week of Welcome, we want to kick start the feeling of comfort and excitement that comes with being a Trailblazer…”
From Harvey’s perspective, Campbell’s goal was a success. Harvey said her first week at DSU has been “chill,” which has been nice for a first week of school.
Student Body President Sarah Ramaker, a senior dance major from Midland, Michigan, said she hopes the Week of Welcome will help keep the semester “chill” for students even after the week is over.
“The things we do during Week of Welcome are set up to help sustain students through the course of the semester in different ways, like making new friends, going a club, or even just experiencing some of the wonderful things our campus has to offer,” Ramaker said.
The DSUSA executive council met through June, July and some of August to ensure they were prepared for the upcoming school year. The public relations branch of DSUSA worked to attain sponsors for the year and to restructure their branch to take on the increased workload that came with the addition of the Athletic Branch and the Institute of Politics to the DSUSA. The student life branch calendared had planned the Week of Welcome activities, Ramaker said.
Cajun Syrett, a sophomore integrated studies major from Bryce Canyon City and DSUSA vice president of student life, said he was pleased with each of the week’s events.
“We really worked hard over the summer to make sure there was something here for as many students as possible, and I feel like we accomplished that,” Syrett said.
Week of Welcome will wrap up with the Foam Dance in the Edith S. Whitehead Education Building courtyard at 9 p.m. Friday.