First Week for New Students Whirlwind of Activity 

 When Westminster new students say final farewells to their families Saturday night, they will begin a whirlwind of activities to prepare them for academic success, bond with their classmates, and have a great time. 

At 8 p.m. that night everyone will gather on The Quad to play grocery bingo and win free food to stock their new residence hall room. 

On Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. freshmen will have their first meeting with their small seminar groups, which have been organized according to shared student interests as a part of Westminster’s acclaimed The Leader Within (LST 101) program.   

This one-credit orientation course in daily sessions the first week will teach freshman the expectations, values, and traditions of Westminster and practical skills such as acclimating them to the campus and city of Fulton, finding where  all their classes are located, and learning what resources they need as well as helping them meet new friends and begin to develop relationships with faculty and staff. 

Once classes start, the groups will meet on a weekly basis, working with a faculty member and upper-class student mentors, to develop the critical thinking, communication, and research skills necessary to succeed in college as well as guidance in time management skills and good financial and personal decisions. 

Westminster transfer students will have their own special seminar course. 

During this first week new students will also have opportunities to meet with their advisors and learn about fraternity and sorority life and recruitment, Westminster intramurals, the campus alert text system, campus safety procedures, and Green Dot training, an intensive bystander intervention training to proactively reduce the potential for violence on campus. 

New students will also receive a unique alcohol awareness program on Wednesday afternoon, which combines a hypnosis show with valuable information about the effect drugs and alcohol can have on a person’s life. 

Two of the major fun events of the week are a Westmo Glow on the Quad from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday night and the magician Reza on Monday night from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Champ Auditorium.  The WestMo Glow is comparable to a paint run with a live DJ, but without the running component.  Rez is an in-demand musician on college campuses, who has performed on programs such as Duck Dynasty and Penn & Teller: Fool Us. 

Rock the Hill, a celebration of the end of summer, will be held Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with food, games, prizes, and D.J. music to help everyone unwind before the first day of classes on Thursday, August 23. 

At the end of the first day of class, students, faculty, and staff will gather in JCI for an ice cream social at 3 p.m. and at 7 p.m. that evening an Intramural First Night Fortnite Tournament will be held. 

Friday activities, August 24, include a New Year’s Eve-themed TGIF party for student, faculty, and staff, followed by a mystery movie night in the Coulter Lecture Hall at 8 p.m. 

Saturday means Zumba and Yoga on the Lawn of The Quad at 1 p.m. and a block party meal with lawn games on The Quad that afternoon at 5 p.m.  When 8 p.m. rolls around, Karaoke will start on The Quad so new students can sing, dance, and listen to their favorite songs while getting to know each other and enjoying drinks and snacks. 

The final new student orientation activity will be the Student Involvement Fair from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday night, August 28, in the Mueller Student Center.  Representatives of the more than 50 campus clubs and offices as well as local not-for-profit groups and businesses will be on hand to explain what they do and how students can get involved.