From hot chocolate to a fire show, Welcome Week events had it all
It seems that the semester just started, and now more than a week has passed. Yet, as students attempted to settle into their respective semester schedules last week, they also had some on-campus events to enjoy and be a part of during the first week of classes.
To welcome students, both new and continuing, the University of Regina Students’ Union (URSU) organized an event-filled Welcome Week over the first week of the Winter 2024 semester.
A variety of events were organized, appealing to the diverse interests of a wide range of students. The events started on Tuesday, January 9, and concluded on Friday, January 12. Events included things like Karaoke night, Bingo and Paint, Trivia Night, Snowman and Hot Chocolate, Open Mic, Club Fair, and Fire and Magic Shows, amongst others.
Most of these events were held at The Lazy Owl, a facility run and managed by URSU, while some took place in the Multi-Purpose Room at the Riddell Centre. URSU members and students who attended the Welcome Week events shared their experience with the Carillon.
Tejas Patel, URSU President, said, “After [the COVID-19 pandemic], this is the first Winter Welcome Week that URSU organized. As per University’s data we have 1,400 students walking in and out of campus in the present winter semester and URSU made efforts to include a wide range of events so that most students can find something as per their interests.”
Tejas continued, “I think the turnout was pretty good with the help of the executives, the events management team, and The Lazy Owl team where most of our events were held.”
The highlight of the Welcome Week turned out to be the Fire and Magic show which was held on the evening of January 11 at The Lazy Owl. The magic show was performed by Spencer Scurr, and Stephanie Stella was the performer for the fire show that followed.
“This particular event took place in front of capacity crowd at The [Lazy] Owl, the most I have seen at The [Lazy] Owl in the last two years,” said Mohammad Talha Akbar, URSU General Manager.
Zuhruf Zarooq, URSU VP of Students Affairs, commented on the biggest success of the events. “I did not get the chance to be a part of all the events myself. However, as per my conversation with some of the students who attended the events, they were really happy.”
“I was pleased to see how the student engagement spiked at these events, be it domestic or international students, or new or continuing students,” Zarooq explained as the reason why this was what they considered the biggest success.
“I went to almost all the Welcome Week events. I had an amazing time. The best was the fire and magic show. I really enjoyed it,” said Daxit Vasoya, a second-year student in Computer Science.
“The fire and magic show was just stunning. I was really looking forward to it and I was not disappointed at all,” said Maria Eugenia Argerami, a final-year English major.
With the success of the Welcome Week events, we at the Carillon hope that all the students here, both new and continuing, enjoy their courses. We also wish you all good luck with your studies and schedules, and, as always, if you enjoy our newspaper, feel free to reach out!
With all that said, we welcome you to the Winter 2024 semester at the University of Regina!
