Welcome Week brings Dynamite events
Elizabeth Sapp, senior teacher education major, (left) plays Cosmic Golf during the Fall Forward Aug. 24 as Denise Lee, manager of Cosmic Mini Golf, watches for a hole-in-one. The person who receives a hole-in-one wins a free game.
Starting off the college experience for the Fall semester was Welcome Week 2005. The special event was designed to welcome new and returning students to Missouri Southern.
“Welcome Week is made to be a fun way for students to get used to college life,” said Melanie Epperson, secretary of student activities.
Kicking off Welcome Week was Campus Crawl, held on Aug. 21. It was an event designed to break the ice between freshman through dancing, talking and social activities. Aug. 22 was all about food as the All Campus Picnic was held.
Free buttons with several Napoleon Dynamite phrases and a photo scavenger hunt were offered to students on Aug. 23.
Fall Forward, held on Aug. 24, gave students a chance to know their community a little better when businesses from around Joplin came to the campus with special offers and free giveaways.
The Lion’s ROAR, held Aug. 26, gave students a chance to meet the student groups of Southern.
The grand finale took place that night as students met John Heder and Aaron Ruell from Napoleon Dynamite.
“If you were bored during Welcome Week, it’s because you wanted to be bored,” said Grahm Dickinson, senior finance major. “Welcome Week benefits freshman greatly and is a fun way to start school again.”
The Campus Activities Board (CAB) was responsible for organizing the many activities offered throughout the week.
“I think Welcome Week works, it lets me meet a lot of people I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and it makes me feel really welcome,” said freshman Anthony Leggins.
Others agree.
“Meeting other people was one of the things I loved about Welcome Week,” said freshman Natasha Figuroa. “Since I’ve made new friends, it has been much easier for me to get used to college.”
Epperson said several months of preparation went into making Welcome Week possible.
“Looking back on it now, it was well worth all the work,” Epperson said. “Community support was apparent throughout the week with over seventy participating businesses. Also, not only students, but also many community members bought some of the over 2,000 tickets sold for the Meet Napoleon Dynamite event. Overall, Welcome Week was very fun and had a very good turnout.”
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