On August 21, The University of New Haven opened its doors to the Class of 2028, which boasts as the second-largest freshman class in history, with over 1,400 students choosing UNH as their home away from home. The students were greeted by our Charger Welcome Wagon, a program filled with volunteers dedicating several days to help incoming students move their belongings onto campus.
Darby Brown, president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA), greeted the campus student body with a warm welcome.
“I’m so excited to welcome the Class of 2028 into our Charger community,” she said. “Even though they have only been here for a short period of time, I know they are going to make an impact on this campus.”
Welcome Week began on the week of August 26, and ended on August 30. Activities such as karaoke nights, movies and featuring the Inflatable Fun Fest and the Glo Party for students to participate in. Taking place in the Bixler/Gerber quad, the Inflatable Fun Fest involved a large water slide, as well as bull riding and axe throwing.
The Glo Party, which also took place in the Bixler/Gerber quad at night, featured glowing seesaw and swing sets, setting the scene for an amazing montage of photos from the freshman class.
“The Glo party was so beautiful,” said Diederick-Fritz Ojeda, a sophomore, “I love going there just to dance and listen to the music and talk to people.”
However, a major highlight of the week went to the annual Involvement Fair. For those who did not attend, this event takes place in the Maxcy Quad and features every on-campus organization, each of which sets up tables with items, presentations and (for some) live demonstrations. The Robotics Club came with a human-sized robot wheeling around, sharing QR codes with students who walked around the seal during the fair.
The Involvement Fair began at 3 p.m., strategically planned for when all students got out of class for the week and their first weekend on campus.
The Involvement Fair allowed for a variety of organizations to be introduced to the student body as well, such as Club Tennis and Men’s club volleyball. Greek organizations such as fraternities Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Chi, and sororities such as Alpha Sigma Alpha and Delta Phi Epsilon were also present and tabling. Multicultural organizations also made an appearance, with organizations such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People),University of New Haven PRIDE and KPOP Dance Crew. Other clubs such as the UNH Guitar Club and Animation Club also made appearances.
The Executive Board members of the fair’s organizations were present as the fair only allowed for two members sitting behind their respective table. It was a humongous success, with a high turnout and many new and happy faces.
“I’m not gonna lie, this place is packed,” said Leo Leblanc, Executive Assistant of UNH Pride “We have, like, 100% capacity, and I see a lot more heads than I saw last year, I see so many applications and flyers being filled out, it’s pretty lively, I like it,” they said.
“I really love the involvement fair,” said Sara Rogan, a member of the UNH tennis club. “They have ice cream here, which is really good for the heat. It’s fun, we have a lot of new faces and people signing up!”
“It’s been amazing,” said Adam Sigal, Eminent Chronicler of the fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon. “We’ve got a lot of people coming out to see us, and a lot of new faces that are interested in Greek life,” he said. “I would say that around 40-50 people signed our email list, so it’s a huge turnout.”
“The Involvement Fair is one of my favorite events of the year,” said Darby Brown, USGA president, “it’s where all students, both new and returning, find ways to get involved here on campus. As USGA president I am a huge believer in getting involved to enhance the student experience. It makes me happy to see so many new and familiar faces at this event, and if this engagement shows us anything about the rest of the semester, I can’t wait to see what’s next,” she said.
The university also decided to take safety measures to fight the heat and provide students with treats, carting around with crates of cold water to distribute to the members advertising their organizations.
Although the initial welcome week activities have concluded, UNH is not quite done welcoming our new class of 2028. The Student Committee of Programming Events (SCOPE) has many different activities planned for September. The most popular event being Family Day.
Family Day, Sept. 21, invites the parents of students to come onto campus, explore the halls, meet professors and staff members. They get to see how the students are faring in this new chapter in life.
Everyone’s favorite horse, Charlie the Charger, has also left his mark on campus during Welcome Week. With inflatable Charlies blown up all over campus, our favorite mascot has shown his school spirit and welcomed the students to campus.
