By Jorge Luis QuijanoBridge Staff Writer
“Welcome Week is really to get the year started right for current and new students,” said Miguel Treviño, Associate Director of Student Activities. “It is to get an idea of what happens [on campus] and what organizations are available to get [students] involved with.” This year, Welcome Week included the following events:
Athletic Pep-Rally
A big crowd of supporters cheered at the pep rally after a 3-0 win by the TAMIU men’s soccer team against UT-Brownsville.Athletic director Dr. Debbie Snell introduced the men and women athletes to the crowd.”It’s good for commentary amongst our athletes,” said junior athlete Adeyemi Gill. “It’s good to familiarize the rest of the school [with] the athletes…epecially because we need all the support we can get.”The university’s band played during the game and pep rally.”It was really good,” junior Victor Vedia said. “The band did great.”Another student expressed pride in being part of the rally.”It’s a new beginning,” band member Martin Gonzalez said. “There was a lot of motivation which made me proud to be a Dustdevil.”People cheered for each individual introduced.
Café du Monde
On Aug. 26, the Association of International Students served baked treats and beverages in front of the Bullock building so students could mingle with one another.Students and staff were more than welcome to grab the goodies served by students from Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Holland, and Chile.Itiel Aldashti, the Student Records Specialist of International Student Services, explained that the event was mainly intended to encourage international students to meet local students and vice versa.International student Yumiko Naito from Japan served the beverages along with Olga Rios from Chile.”It’s great because you get to know more people,” Rios said.”It’s a good opportunity to meet other students since this is my first semester here,” Naito added.Naito said she experienced two different cultures in the U.S. Previously, she lived in California for two years.Students who studied abroad in Sweden and Spain also helped.Seniors Monica Santos and Linda Villarreal served the baked treats during the event and encouraged students to study abroad in Spain.The Division of International Programs not only donated the tea, coffee, lemonade, and punch but also baked the treats, according to Aldashti.The International Student Festival is an upcoming event for the organization, explained Aldashti.”Different countries being represented will display facts and information about their home country along with their customs, culture, politics, and language,” Aldashti said.
Giant Musical Chairs
The giant musical chairs took place on Aug. 26 at the University Green. Since too few students arrived to participate, the conductors of the event waited for more to join the game.Students began to walk around the chairs when music played from the radio station 106.1.Martha Guajardo, Staff Assistant of Student Activity, shouted switch, but students misunderstood and sat down.Guajardo kept telling the students to move at a faster pace, but not all followed directions since they did not want to lose their seats.More than one chair was removed after each round due to the high amount of students participating.Freshman Pablo Vidal and sophomore Frank Leal fought for the last seat, sitting on top of one another. The decision was final, and Leal won the game.”I’m happy because I was close to not winning,” Leal said. “I guess I have a bigger butt.”Vidal said, “It was awesome!”Both men received a variety of TAMIU memorabilia, but the winner took home a Best Buy gift certificate. The memorabilia consisted of t-shirts from previous years to show the traditions of the past, according to Treviño.B-I-N-G-O
On Aug. 27 at the Student Center Ballroom, students waited for the doors to open at 7 p.m. Because there were not enough round tables to seat people, students sat on the floor to play Bingo, brought by the Campus Activities Board. Students clapped for the first student who won a $50 Starbucks card. As the game continued and numbers were called, students gasped for air.”It’s exciting because we are eager to win the prizes and [see] who wins,” senior Jesus Gonzalez said. “Tension builds up as the numbers are called.”There were five ties in total. To break the tie, the person who drew the highest number won the prize. In the battle to break one tie, sophomore Tony Alanis decided to give up the prize to junior Jessica Serrato.”That was nice of him,” Serrato said.Sophomore Oscar Zenteno, the announcer for the game, presented the mystery prize, stating it could be anything, including a bag of Cheetos.Freshman Claudia Samaniego won the mystery prize. As she opened it, students banged on the table for drum roll. Everyone was surprised when they realized Samaniego won an I-Touch.”Wow! I thought it was going to be a bag of Cheetos,” said Samaniego.Other prizes included portable DVD players, DVD movies, a digital camera, gift cards, a television, a bicycle, Nintendo Wii, and more.Students had a great time, even those who did not win.”It was cool, but I’m angry because I didn’t get anything tonight,” said international student Elmo Hsu.Other events included giveaways of souvenirs and digital caricatures on the Green, free shows at the LBV Planetarium for students, Ballet Folkorico demo classes, the Student Organizational Fair, and the Total Rec Experience. “I actually enjoyed [Welcome Week] very much,” said senior Teri Rangel. “I think we had a lot of participation from everybody this year.”