With welcome week departing, students have had plenty of opportunities to get involved. Two groups on campus each had their own take on the week, offering in total 13 unique activities for Colorado Mesa University’s (CMU’s) students. With the last events by the Programming Activities Council (PAC) and Young Life coming to a close we can ask now; who did it better? 

To answer that, we have to first understand what the intent was behind welcome week. For me, the week(s) are meant to provide students with a way to meet other individuals through a fun and welcoming environment. Simply, the purpose of welcome week is to make students feel ‘welcome’ on campus. 

Taking a look at the PAC schedule, you’ll find a lot of high-impact events fueled by the superior budget of the organization. These included the Mavily BBQ, grocery bingo and the glow party that were spread out during the first week. These activities garnered a sizable crowd and provided students with food, prizes and solid entertainment. Each activity, while successful in their own right, didn’t exactly bring students together in a neighborly fashion. I personally enjoyed each of PAC’s events that I attended but looking back I didn’t exactly make a whole lot of new friends in the process. 

Take grocery bingo for example, students were spread out along the pavilion in a row of tables. Most of the tables were filled with groups of friends who had wandered in together. Of course, you could meet the strangers at your table, but from my experience this was limited to small talk. For students going alone, this would be especially stressful due to “cliquey” atmosphere the event provided. The structure of the event along with the sheer size of attendance failed to create an environment suitable for meeting new people. This was the situation for the majority of PAC events. 

Young Life took a different approach with their welcome week. Nearly all of the events included a structure that was team based or communal. The early part of the schedule included friendly games of whiffle ball and volleyball. This was a smart way to not only introduce new students to the club, but to also bring individuals together in a way that encouraged conversation. This provided the get-to-know-you basis for the bonfire and the night hike later in the week. The smaller turnout gave Young Life members a better opportunity to meet the majority of the students. In general, the relaxed atmosphere provided a welcoming environment for everyone involved. 

This was the big contrast between the two schedules. Making real, genuine friendships is hard enough, but PAC provided a template that made it nearly impossible. The community feel was missing here, and I felt I could’ve had a similar experience in the hundreds of events outside of campus. Young life was warm, open and made me feel as though I was part of an actual community at CMU.

Overall, I had a fun experience with welcome week on both sides. If you only sought a good time with friends, each group provided a way to serve that purpose. The difference is that with Young Life, I now have new friendly faces here on campus. To me, that’s what welcome week is all about. Young Life proves that even with lesser resources, smaller groups can make an impact as well.