Current Release: September 11th, 2007 | Vol. XXIV Iss. 10

PHOTO BY RACHEL ALEXANDER

VWC welcomes students back to campus with a week full of events

By Katie Morris

kemorris@vwc.edu

For some people, stepping onto the campus is an easy process, whether it s their first time entering the grounds for a semester of education or whether they ve done it time and time again. For others, the phase might be a little difficult. For freshmen, it may be tough to adjust to being in college, living on campus or just getting into the flow of things. For that purpose, WAC was there to ease the transition and create an interesting and fun week for returning students to come back to and for new students to ease into the swing of the Wesleyan lifestyle.

The events kicked off Monday night on Aug. 27, wherein ICE (Intercultural Cultural Education) held a Country Night which included country music (as well as a few other kinds for variety, like the Cha Cha and the YMCA) and square dancing lessons for participating students. Tuesday s event, a foam dance, was hosted by TGIF. On Wednesday, Main Stage hosted a concert featuring Braddigan, a reggae and alternative rock band. VWC Traditions coordinated a demonstration by renowned Illusionist Jason Bishop for Thursday. Another reggae band, Nature s Child, gave a concert courtesy of VWC and Beyond on Friday. Saturday held a day of photographic and cinemagraphic mayhem& in the best, possible way. SAC (Student Athletic Committee) organized  Make Your Own DVD and Freaky Picture , the highlight of which was students having the opportunity to make their own music videos. Students were able to pick their own songs and backgrounds for the videos.

The events of the week served to help students get back into the swing of things and to welcome them all to the campus (or back to the campus), in a fun and interactive way.

 It s basically to help introduce WAC to the incoming freshmen and generate more interest among those that are returning, said Tiffanie Bundick, a VWC junior and director of ICE. Bundick was one of the event coordinators for the Country Night. Bundick not only coordinated the event, but was even coerced into participating in some of the dances by Michelle Neunzig. Neunzig is also a junior at VWC and is very interested in both country music and Southern culture.

 I couldn t imagine myself square dancing, said Bundick,  But I did it anyway, and I liked it.

Like many of the other events put together by WAC for the week, Bundick s event got a pretty good reception from the campus.

 I thought it was a pretty good turn out, she said,  I was surprised.

The following night s event, the Foam Dance party, also got a good turn out from the campus. For the event, a large tub not unlike those used for the basis of a moonwalk or bouncy house (Except in this case, much bigger and with less bounce) was filled with bubbles for students to dance in. As the music (which was usually along the line of hip-hop or some kind of club techno) played, students grooved together as more bubbles cascaded down on them.

 It s bubble-icious, said VWC student Christian Peña.  I love it.

Bundick said that she felt that the Illusionist and the Foam Dance events got the biggest turnouts. Bishop is an award winning showman, and was able to keep the crowds attention no matter what he was doing, this ability played a big part in how popular he was with his audience.

These events are not by any stretch of the imagination the last for WAC. Since they are dedicated in bringing entertainment to the campus and giving the community a chance to interact and be involved, students can look forward to more events like this throughout this year and for years to come.