Welcome Week, hosted by the Student Arts and Events Council,  has taken on a “Six Million Light-Years Apart” theme and a virtual form for the Fall 2020 semester.

Normally, Welcome Week consists of a series of events involving various clubs that take place on campus. However, with UMass Boston functioning on a nearly fully remote basis, the tradition is being carried out a bit differently.

“This is our first Welcome Week from home and of course, it is way different than we are used to,” said one of SAEC’s student coordinators, Paige Groves, via email interview. “We are still learning the best way to have virtual events, but this Welcome Week is jam packed full of fun events, just like how it would have been if we were all on campus.”

“We chose the theme six million light years apart because it really feels like we are all six million light years apart working from home,” said Groves. “It was also a play on words since we all need to be six feet apart to be safely socially distanced.” 

The festivities began on the first day of classes, Tuesday, Sept. 8, and events are set to last into early October. 

“Every year Welcome Week seems to get longer and longer, and last year we had it go for about a month as well,” said Groves in response to a question regarding the length of Welcome Week. “We want to ensure that there is an event that each and every student will love and have the availability in their schedule to attend.”

Events from the first two weeks varied widely. Various “connection stations” took place during the first two weeks, such as the “Getting Involved Connection Station,” the “Student Employment Connection Station,” the “Undergraduate Student Government Connection Station,” and more.

“Connection stations [are] the online equivalent of different organizations tabling for their office,” said Groves. “You can attend these connection stations to learn more about what they have to offer and how you can get involved from home!” 

Students could also attend a virtual open mic variety show, a Hollywood murder mystery party, and virtual drag bingo.

“I personally love our nighttime events, it is a perfect way to end your school day!” Groves said when asked of events she was most proud of. “My favorites so far have been the Trivia Nights and our E-Sports gaming tournaments. The event I am looking forward to most though definitely has to be Drag Bingo. We partnered with the queer student center to have this night hosted by Monique Heart from RuPaul’s Drag Race!” 

Virtual Drag Bingo occurred on Friday, Sept. 18. This coming week will include a virtual volunteer fair, different virtual game rooms,  and another open mic variety show. The last welcome week event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3 with a collective Day of Action.

Groves also explained how students can access the Welcome Week events.

“Students can access these events by going onto UMBInvolved, checking out SAEC’s instagram @UMBSaec. or by checking out our brochure on Issuu! https://issuu.com/umbsaec/docs/fall2020.”

Groves urges students who are looking to get involved on campus to look at the SAEC itself.

“If you are interested in joining SAEC, please send an email to [email protected]!” said Groves. “We are always looking for new students to help us plan all our events!” 

For more information regarding Welcome Week, visit https://www.umb.edu/life_on_campus/student_involvement/activities/saec/welcome_week.