A fun new competition is at the heart of this year’s UWindsor Welcome Week orientation program, says organizer Amber Norman.

A student development specialist in the Student Success Centre, she is encouraging participants to register for teams based in their academic faculties. They will earn points by engaging in the week’s activities, with the highest-finishing team receiving a prize.

“It’s a way for us to help new students meet friends, join in, and get involved,” says Norman. “We’re trying a different approach this year and hoping to get more of our local students to attend campus before the start of classes.”

Highlights of the week’s activities include:

• Sunday, September 3. Residence move-in day will see volunteers help students get settled in their new homes away from home. Sex and emotional literacy educator Karen B. K. Chan will discuss “Consent for Real People” in the residence quad.
• Monday, September 4. The River Games will pit teams in a Canada150-themed competition in Assumption Park, at Huron Church Road south of Riverside Drive.
• Tuesday, September 5. The Involvement Fair, in the David A. Wilson Campus Commons along Turtle Island Walk, will introduce new students to opportunities to get active in student life, in the community, in making the University a better place. Lancer women’s volleyball will take on Michigan-Dearborn in a pre-season exhibition contest dubbed the Canada 150 Volleyball Game in the Dennis Fairall Fieldhouse. The games continue with Game On, a board game social in Katzman Lounge, and Trivia Tuesday in the CAW Student Centre Commons.
• Wednesday, September 6. Program orientation sessions are mandatory for first-year students in all academic disciplines. Welcoming Celebration in the fieldhouse is a must for new students and promises presentations and a draw for prizes — including a semester’s tuition, courtesy of the Alumni Association.
• Thursday, September 7. The first day of classes offers a Shinerama barbecue to benefit the fight against cystic fibrosis, the Get Crafty at Leddy session, and an outdoor film screening, Movie Under the Stars.
• Saturday, September 9. Shine Day will see UWindsor students join Canada’s largest post-secondary charity fundraiser, taking their shoe-shining skills to the streets of Windsor.

Find a full list of events, locations, and times in the Guidebook app: download it now.