Hundreds of Central State students participated in Welcome Week Jan. 13 – 18, 2020. The week featured games and contests sponsored by the Student Engagement Activities Committee.
“Since this was my last Icebreaker, I had mixed emotions,” said Bria Spaulding, who hosted the Icebreaker party Saturday night. “I was mostly excited, since I’m so close with being done.”
The theme for this year’s Welcome Week was “city vs. city,” and students participated in games while representing their hometowns. Students from Detroit, Cincinnati, Chicago, Indianapolis, the Bahamas and a combined southern cities team competed for top honors.
Welcome Week began with a Central State production of MTV’s hit show “Fear Factor.” Contestants ate baby food, drank smoothies made of disgusting ingredients, and searched for earthworms in a pile of dirt.
Students gathered in the Ward Center ballroom on Wednesday for the spring Organization Fair. A variety of organizations, including Greek letter organizations, the student government assocation, and several modeling troupes, recruited new members at the event. Student entrepreneurs met on Thursday at the student expo to sell their products to their classmates. They sold clothing, women’s accessories, and food at the event.
Welcome Week also featured a number of athletic competitions. On Tuesday, male students -- and one female student -- competed in a city vs. city basketball tournament. The southern cities team defeated the Detroit team in the championship game. On Thursday, students filled Beacom gymnasium and cheered on their friends in a dodgeball game.
Students competed in a dance competition on Friday in which underclassmen faced off against upperclassmen. After a spirited competition, audience members decided that the underclassmen had come out on top. Welcome Week ended with the Icebreaker dance in the Ward Center ballroom. DJ Zae entertained hundreds of students with a mix of hip hop and R&B.
Freshman Tiyonna Scott said that the keeping up with with all the activities was a challenge. “If I knew I wanted to go to an event at night, I would complete all my work beforehand, so I wouldn’t fall behind,” she said.
Putting on Welcome Week involved a lot of work. Student Symone Keyes, who is on the
e-board for Student Engagement Activities, said that “making sure everybody in the organization stays together” was a key challenge. Keyes said that the SEA also worked hard to publicize their events to ensure strong participation.
Most of the Welcome Events were free of charge to students. However, it cost $2 to attend the Icebreaker.
Comments