As August comes back around, students will transition back into school mode. While students usually find themselves crowding on campus grounds, this year will be a little different. Campus events, like Weeks of Welcome, will be held mostly online for the coming fall semester.
UH’s Weeks of Welcome usually features events like Cat’s Back, Cultural Taste of Houston, a glow party and concerts. In lieu of all these, students can expect activities like Tik Tok challenges, virtual EDM and hip-hop concerts, esports tournaments and a DJ competition.
“Primarily they’ll be very virtually based. Whether it’s on Zoom, or (Microsoft) Teams or other platforms,” said Keith Kowalka, assistant vice president for student affairs. “For the Weeks of Welcome, I believe mostly every event will be online.”
With the transition to virtual learning since last spring fluctuating attendance, Kowalka said he was hopeful in the digital and physical marketing plans the student affairs office had prepared, as well as the more frequent communication that will occur among students and campus organizations for the fall semester.
Students can also expect a few on campus events organized by the Student Program Board.
The board plans on continuing some on campus events with the anticipation of requiring masks, social distancing and limiting attendees, while also following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
SPB is trying to give incoming freshmen and returning students a slice of normal for events on campus this fall, said integrated communication senior Kayla Washington, the organization’s head of membership.
Both the student affairs office and SPB worry for their most vulnerable stakeholders, Kowalka said.
“Freshmen, foster, first generation, LGBTQ+ and international students are all populations that generally benefit from on campus programming and the sense of community that the physical offices bring,” Kowalka said.
