Summer is over and fall semester has officially begun. Almost overnight LSU’s campus went from a ghost town to a kicked-over anthill crawling with some 7,000 freshmen.
Students are moving into their dorms, trying out The 459 Commons and The 5 dining halls for the first time, walking up and down West Lakeshore Drive and visiting Mike the Tiger’s Habitat. But sometimes all the new students are in the same place at the same time. It’s that time of year again – it’s Welcome Week.
This year, mandatory events like convocation filled the schedule, but there were also plenty of fun, smaller groups that held events throughout the week, like a pickleball demo on Saturday and a day trip to New Orleans on Friday. Tuesday, some students biked to French Truck Coffee or enjoyed all-access at the UREC Thursday night, where a mechanical bull was the star of the show.
Znyah Williams, a pre-nursing freshman, said the best part of the week was the block party Monday night. She loved “seeing everyone vibing together and meeting new people,” Williams said.
Her roommate Tierany Frazier, a freshman studying biology on the pre-med track, said Welcome Week has made her feel like she’s finding her place at LSU, a sentiment that she initially struggled with coming from a small hometown.
“Bastrop is a very small town, so it’s kind of a culture shock seeing all the different people,” Frazier said. “But I do like the big community. It’s like a small world in itself.”
Tre Odom, a psychology freshman on the pre-med track, liked the Twilight Ceremony Wednesday night. Thousands of freshmen crowded beneath Memorial Tower, where Odom got to listen to the Alma Mater during candlelight ceremony and, as Williams put it, “officially become an LSU tiger.”
At Student Government’s silent disco Friday night at the UREC gym, freshman Sydney Neyer taught people the line dance to “Cotton Eye Joe.” Neyeran, an out-of-state student, is most excited to get involved with as much as she can this year.
This zeal for involvement is encouraged by SG’s Director of Student Entertainment, Larsen Melton. Melton, a sophomore majoring in journalism, said Welcome Week gives students a chance to acclimate to LSU.
Melton organized the silent disco, an event she loved attending her freshman year. She wanted students to “truly just enjoy every single moment.”
“So if it’s dancing and doing the bunny hop really quick with a student, I’ll do it,” Melton said.
However, the most important part of Welcome Week is the in-between, said Melton.
“I think LSU does a great job at distracting students from realizing they’re away from home,” Melton said. “But that in-between, where you have to meet people and really grow into yourself and your college experience. I think that is integral to start off the school year right.”
