Welcome Week is a true depiction of the school year
Courtney Quinton
Welcome Week at App State is more than just the beginning of campus life; it is a preview of the range of experiences students can expect throughout the academic year. The week is packed with activities, events and opportunities designed to help new students get involved in the Mountaineer community, thanks to organizations like APPS, fraternity and sorority life, academic clubs and many sporting events.
Welcome Week is a realistic depiction of the rest of the school year if you make an effort. There are many events, clubs and organizations to join and participate in to constantly have something to do and enjoy on campus.
APPS plays a role in setting the tone for the year as Welcome Week goes on. During this week, APPS hosts many activities on Sanford Mall, including block parties, cover shows and movies. These programs keep students entertained and create a sense of community among them.
From craft activities to big concerts and shows, there is always something to entertain and connect students throughout the school year. When finals approach, stress-easing events like therapy dog sessions, yoga classes and relaxation classes help students take a much-needed break from academics.
App State has a plethora of sporting clubs to choose from, whether you like to play or watch. From club volleyball to climbing, there is something for everyone to enjoy throughout the school year. There is also school football, basketball, dance, cheerleading, baseball and many other sports that are there all year round for all Mountaineers.
Fraternity and sorority life at App State is another way to continue finding many events that help to grow the Appalachian student experience. During Welcome Week, Greek organizations host recruitment events so the new students learn the values and opportunities that the Greek community offers. Throughout the year, Greek organizations host events, fundraisers and community service projects that help connect the campus and local community.
Academic clubs play an important role during Welcome Week, offering new students intellectual and professional development opportunities at App State. These clubs host informational sessions and workshops to help students find things they are interested in, as well as helping to develop previous interests. This is also a great way to connect with peers who share similar interests.
As the year goes on, academic clubs continue to provide valuable resources and events, including guest lectures, study groups and professional development workshops. These activities not only support students’ academic goals but also help them build skills and network.
There are many wonderful and beautiful ways to stay connected and enjoy time at App State throughout the years. Everyone has the chance to continue meeting brothers and sisters in black and gold.
Welcome Week is always an amazing time to connect and see everyone you missed over the summer. It is also a fun way to make memories and meet new people you may not have yet had the chance to.
During my freshman year, I was lucky enough to meet people through Welcome Week that I still consider some of my best friends who never let the excitement from that week burn out.
Sophomore year, I was convinced by my friends to go through sorority recruitment. It has led me to people I call sisters now and there’s not a day I am alone. These weeks were fun and exciting, and these feelings have continued every day since. These weeks are the stepping stones to build your foundation here and for the years to come — enjoy it.
Is Welcome Week really all that welcoming?
Gabby Maryland
During the first few weeks of the fall semester, incoming students are treated to the unbridled pageantry that is Welcome Week.
The week includes a series of events and campus festivities meant to entice first-year students into the prospective joys of student life.
However, as integral as this weeklong event seems to be in creating a sense of community amongst the new class, this festival merely serves to create an inherent falsehood.
Welcome Week fails to realistically convey the realities of one’s social life as a newfound Mountaineer.
Despite the cheeriness often presented in droves during this week, this overwhelming display of Mountaineer comradery lulls attendees into thinking that there will always be a place for them amongst the crowd.
Coming from a small midwestern college, I had never experienced a welcome week before I transferred to App State in the fall of 2023. Most people who attended my former university had known each other for years, if not from infancy then from first or second grade. There was no need for social events or mixers.
So, to step foot onto the App State campus and be met with a sea of black and gold, I was deeply excited to meet others who were also transitioning to campus life.
However, after Welcome Week concluded and the remaining days of my first semester churned on, I had never felt more lonely. The events for transfer students, mostly held off-campus or at nearby bars, were impossible for someone who was five years sober with a busy work schedule.
With the massive festival that is Welcome Week, where scores of faces and mumbled names are easily lost amongst the literal crowd, I firmly believe therein lies a recipe for a broken heart.
There is a phrase at the university that has become synonymous with the ethos of every facet of campus life: “Give Your All for App State.”
That phrase may speak to many in the student body — especially to those who organize and participate in the events of Welcome Week. For many of us however, we have learned the hard way that the veneer of kindness offered in the first days of any given semester wears incredibly thin by the end of the first term.
Take it from someone who has been there and so totally done that, welcome week is a fleeting fair, and it is not, nor has it ever been, an earnest representation of what actually happens during your time here at App State. Your journey as a member of the Mountaineers community is what you make it — remember that.
