While Welcome Week hosts familiar activities that invite students to campus every school year, this year’s events featured numerous changes, some specifically aimed to better welcome the freshmen.
“The biggest focus of Welcome Week is getting freshmen connected to Bradley,” said Director of Student Activities Tom Coy. “We evaluated events that occurred in the past and figured out how to put together the best possible schedule.”
Some changes included eliminating Northwoods Mall and Grand Prairie busing, hosting Late Night BU on Move-In Day and shortening the Activities Fair.
One of the most notable changes was moving the Block Party from Saturday to Sunday, following the Taste of Bradley.
Hosting the Block Party on Sunday gave freshmen the opportunity to become slightly more acclimated to Bradley prior to heading to the event on Sunday, Coy said.
“The freshmen attended several events on Saturday, which provided them opportunities to meet more of their classmates and increased the comfort levels as they ventured to Greek row,” said Panhellenic Council President Ellie Silver.
Senior dietetic major and Residential Advisor Jen Boakye said she approved of Bradley’s decision to have mandatory freshmen floor meetings on Saturday, host a Late Night BU on Saturday and move the Block Party to Sunday.
“Having the freshmen floor meeting on Saturday allows freshmen to know the rules and policies of the university earlier on, and having Late Night BU on Saturday immediately gives students, especially freshmen, other options [aside from parties] they can turn to,” Boakye said.
Despite the overall positive feedback Coy said he received regarding the changes thus far, some students, like Boakye, already have suggestions for future years.
“Make cultural events more public and advertised to the university,” Boakye said. “I feel as though only one aspect of the Bradley experience is advertised during Welcome Week, leaving other aspects to hopefully be discovered later in the semester by the student body.”