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By the Students, For the Students

University Programs Council Kicks off Traditional Welcome Week

<p>UPC's Welcome Week aims to harness the energy first years bring to Grounds and offer students opportunities to meet one another through events like Tom DeLuca's hypnotist show, Rotunda Sing, Amp up the Arts, Welcome Back Concert and more. </p>

UPC's Welcome Week aims to harness the energy first years bring to Grounds and offer students opportunities to meet one another through events like Tom DeLuca's hypnotist show, Rotunda Sing, Amp up the Arts, Welcome Back Concert and more. 

A first look at the University for incoming students and a steadfast tradition for those returning, University Program Council’s Welcome Week 2015 is anticipated to be as exciting as ever.

Welcome Week, a weeklong series of events to welcome both new and old students, features University favorites like the Welcome Back Concert, Rotunda Sing and hypnotist Tom DeLuca.

UPC “provides students with a wide variety of entertaining and educational activities and events,” according to their website. Although many organizations around Grounds organize welcoming events for new students, UPC stands apart in its mission.

“UPC is a really unique organization because it really doesn’t have an agenda,” UPC Chair Tom Pilnik, a fourth-year College student, said. “There is nothing about UPC that you need to be affiliated with to have a good time at our events; there’s no pressure or commitment to go to an event for the sake of having fun.”

Targeting first-years, the week begins with Amp Up the Arts, which will be held August 21 and filled with photobooths, tie-dye, photo mugs, food and spin art. The following evening, all are invited to attend the Welcome Back Concert featuring Smallpools, an indie pop band on the rise. After the concert, students can visit a casino, karaoke club or cosmic golf course, all within the halls of Newcomb. The packed weekend concludes August 23 with a First Year Movie Night, held on the quad, according to tradition.

UPC hopes to harness the first-year energy and give all students an outlet to have fun and acclimate to the University.

“We don’t really cater to the specific class as much as the excitement first-years bring to Grounds,” Vice Chair of Outreach Lindsey Rosenthal, a fourth-year College student, said. “They’re always really excited to participate in anything and everything. There’s a lot of camaraderie when they first get to Grounds, and [being] able to go to events it seems everyone is going to gives them a connection point and a first look at what the University can provide them.”

The energy continues throughout the week. First-years and returning students alike flock to the Lawn every year for Rotunda Sing, to be held August 26 this year. The following night, Saturday Night Live fame will return to the University once more when current SNL cast member Nasim Pedrad performs.

“I remember Rotunda Sing and that was really the moment I felt like I was a part of something much bigger than me and much bigger than my hall,” Pilnik said. “It doesn’t take a big artist, but students supporting other students.”

The week finishes off with the crowd-favorite Tom DeLuca, hypnotist and comedian. Invited by UPC and other on-Grounds organizations year after year, DeLuca’s relationship with the University has spanned two generations of students. His show marks the end of Welcome Week and the culmination of students’ excitement and energy.

Welcome Week not only embodies University culture, but provides an element of nostalgia for upperclassmen. In attending Welcome Week events, students can even cross items off of the famous “Things To Do Before We Graduate” list.

A tradition supported by community and student energy, Welcome Week upholds UPC’s motto, “by the students, for the students.”

“What I love most about Welcome Week is that it connects students to each other and to the University,” Vice Chair of Programming Ericajoy Oliverio, a third-year College student. “My cousin who graduated 14 years ago still asks me about Tom DeLuca. I love that we're able to share that same experience. I hope the first-years leave our events feeling at home at the University, and that the upperclassmen leave with a renewed sense of pride and love for the Cavalier community.”







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