ASU Welcome Week gives freshmen, students first look at University

Video by Peter Mare' | Multimedia Reporter

ASU faculty greeted returning students and first-time freshmen this week with open arms. As students moved into their dorms, the Fall Welcome kept them busy with several planned events each day to familiarize them with campus life.

Well Devil Bike Sale

In an effort to promote bicycle culture at ASU, the Well Devils hosted a bike sale at Taylor Mall on Aug. 17, where students could get bikes and accessories for reduced prices.

Local bicycle shops Landis Cyclery, Southwest Battery Bike Co. and Bicycles of Phoenix were invited to the event.

“This bike sale is a way for students to buy high quality bikes at an affordable price,” said Donna Lewandowski, ASU Bicycle Program Manager. “By involving local bike shops from our community, we are keeping our relationship with our community strong.”

Students were also given the opportunity to register their bikes free of charge with the ASU Police Department. According to the department, registration may deter bike theft and may help in the recovery of stolen bicycles.

Not only were students saving money on bikes, they were also impacting the environment.

“This event is helping ASU further their efforts to become a ‘climate-neutral’ campus,” said JoEllen Alberhasky, program coordinator of University Sustainability Practice.

TaylorFest

As students began to settle into their dorms and explore campus, they started to look for a chance to loosen up and meet new people. On Aug. 17, the fourth annual TaylorFest offered downtown students just that.

TaylorFest is an annual block party that serves as a way for students to get a taste of the downtown Phoenix community and student organizations on campus.

“TaylorFest is helping me and my friends see clubs and organizations that we can be involved in,” journalism freshman Rachel Bouley said. “It feels like a welcome home party.”

The event was made possible by the Taylor Fest Committee, and funded by ASU Downtown Undergraduate Student Government and the Residence Hall Association.

“In regard to Taylorfest, 135 local clubs and businesses were invited to join us at Taylor Fest, with 91 confirmed vendors; we had about half returning from last year’s event,” said Allison Shuman, co-chair of the TaylorFest Committee, in an email.

The annual block party featured entertainment from DJ and host on Blazin’ in the Morning, Malcolm Brinkley.

Residence Hall Association Tiki Luau

Thousands of students filed into the intramural fields outside of the Sun Devil Fitness Complex in Tempe Monday night to celebrate the new school year, just days before classes started.

The 15th annual Residence Hall Association Tiki Luau brought a little piece of Hawaii to students, providing live DJ performances, free food, a gigantic inflatable water slide, trampolines and live entertainment from fire dancers and traditional hula dancers.

Clubs and organizations from across campus were distributed throughout the field, giving students a chance to involve themselves in intramural sports, student government, on-campus jobs and other special interest clubs.

“This is almost overwhelming,” secondary education sophomore Brett Belrose said. “It’s amazing how much work is put into making this event happen. This is a nice welcome back.”

Fall Welcome

As the rain dampened the Tempe campus, a sea of gold shirts quickly flooded into Wells Fargo Arena, bringing the energy of the storm with them. Thousands of freshman from all four ASU campuses proudly wore their Sun Devil attire.

A few clubs provided entertainment for the first-time freshmen. Priority Male, an all-male a cappella group, performed alongside Bollywood dance team Andaaz and the ASU Hip-Hop Coalition.

ASU faculty and student leaders were also given opportunities to give their words of advice to the class of 2018. USG Tempe President Cassidy Possehl told students to “dream big, reach out and follow every opportunity that catches your eye.”

Robert Page, Provost of ASU, reminded the students of the common goal of all of the faculty ASU.

“We are here for the sole purpose of making you as successful as we can,” Page said. “Your only job is to be successful."

Later in the assembly, the ASU marching band scattered the floor of the arena and gave the students a taste of what they would hear and see every game day. Band Director James Hudson and his marching band coached the class of 2018 through the fight song to prepare them for game day.

Following the marching band, student athletes from football, and men and women’s basketball introduced themselves and encouraged everyone in the stands to attend each game to support their fellow Sun Devils.

Fall Welcome Concert

Not everyone enjoys rap music, but everyone enjoys a party. Tuesday night marked what was perhaps the most anticipated event of Fall Welcome: the Welcome Concert.

Thousands upon thousands, the majority of which were freshmen, made their way into Wells Fargo Arena excited to see the headliner, Mac Miller.

Wells Fargo Arena was nearing full capacity as the opening act, Caked Up, made it to the stage. Greeted with cheers and chants, the concert began.

After the first hour of the concert, Caked Up left the stage and introduced Mac Miller. After Miller received a roaring applause, he gave a few words to the freshmen in the audience.

“You guys made it a lot further than I did. Make your dreams come true,” Miller said.

Reach the reporter at anicla@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @andrewniclaASU

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