Every fall since 2018, the Wesleyan Weeks of Welcome (WesWOW) program, a two-week series of events to help students transition to campus life and build community, has followed the hectic first-year move-in and orientation schedule. This year, WesWOW began on Monday, Sept. 8 and is set to end on Friday, Sept. 19. Although the programming is designed to welcome first-years, it’s open to all students.
This year, WesWOW events ranged from academic to social and consisted of the Campus Employment Fair, Study Abroad Fair, the Resource Center Open House, and Drag Bingo, among several others. The Wesleyan Film Series also had their first shows during this time. Various departments and programs, including WesWell, the Office of Student Involvement (OSI), the Resource Center, and the Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life, hosted independently run open houses.
“WesWow helps set the tone by carrying the energy of orientation into the academic year,” Director of Student Involvement Joanne Rafferty wrote in an email to The Argus. “For new students, it extends the momentum they’ve built, giving them continued opportunities to connect with peers, explore campus resources, and feel supported as classes begin. For returning students, it serves a reminder of opportunities they may not have engaged with yet.”
The program was the result of student feedback calling for an expansion of on-campus resources.
“Based on feedback from the student orientation survey, there were still a number of campus resources students wanted more information on,” Rafferty wrote. “With an already packed orientation schedule, we thought it made more sense to extend the programming into the first few weeks of school. Many offices were already hosting open houses and info fairs, and the Office of Student Involvement thought it would be a good idea to have a centralized calendar that was also part of the orientation schedule.”
WesWOW is organized by the OSI, which gathers information about activities hosted by various individuals and departments on campus. The activities are then promoted through Instagram, WesNest, and first-year orientation calendars.
“Having the events on the orientation schedule, which is sent to all new students, and then reviewed in their orientation groups, has been very successful in helping to spread the word on these events,” Rafferty wrote.
Each office or department is responsible for planning and hosting its own events. However, to centralize the structure of student programming over the first two weeks, the OSI invites them to submit their events to a collective calendar in early August.
“Campus departments have also found success by hosting events during this time, tapping into the excitement of the new year,” Rafferty wrote. “Building on this collective energy has benefitted both students and the broader university community.”
Many of the events were well received by students.
“[Drag Bingo] was one of the most amazing nights of my life,” Darren Kao ’29 said. “I truly felt blessed by a higher being. I feel so fulfilled.”
WesWOW aims at creating a close-knit community composed of both students and faculty.
“In addition to helping students towards a successful start of the year with Orientation, our goal for WesWOW is to be an exciting and engaging week where students may further foster personal connections with other students, faculty, and staff, while increasing their sense of belonging to the University,” Rafferty wrote.
WesWOW will culminate in the Student Involvement Fair on Friday, Sept. 19. The fair is set to feature over 150 student-run clubs and organizations, including The Argus, on Huss Lawn from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. OSI will offer kettle corn, ice cream, frozen treats, and boba to attendees.
Raiza Goel can be reached at rgoel@wesleyan.edu.
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