Before long, we will witness many young people removing their bags and pillows from the trunk of the family van, and leaping courageously into university life, as the new student contingent takes the campus area by storm. Those settling into residence will fortunately be able to count on the brawn of our special moving team, as Gee-Gees athletes offer their services over the weekend of September 4 and 5.
Among the activities anticipated for Welcome Week, christened “University 101,” several events may be of interest for the public.
The football team faces Waterloo in the season's inaugural game at Landsdowne Park on Sunday, September 5 at 7 p.m. The following day, Monday, September 6, the Labour Day weekend ends with a grand concert in Confederation Park, not too far from the main campus. The groups, Les Respectables and Billy Talent will be on stage, beginning at 7 p.m. You can get tickets for either of these events at the gate, for a modest price.
Barbecues are a traditional part of returning to school. Come and fill up on hotdogs and hamburgers during the lunch hour on Tuesday, September 7 in front of Tabaret Hall, and on Thursday, September 9 at the back of the Roger Guindon campus.
On September 7 and 8, the main campus will be overrun by a crowd of musicians, jugglers, caricaturists and urban dancers, as the Interfaculty Challenge gets into full swing. Watch out for gladiators and apprentice mountaineers . . .
Happily, things calm down on Thursday, September 9, when classes begin at last. Once again, we will have the familiar sight of new students, sometimes lost in a strange new environment, wandering the corridors in search of a classroom or the fee-paying office.
“University 101” comes to an end with the 40th anniversary of Shinerama on Saturday, September 11. If you go downtown on that day, don't be surprised if someone offers you a shoeshine or, for a bit of loose change, recites you a poem: uOttawa volunteers will be trying to raise more than $100,000 to finance cystic fibrosis research. Last year, our student teams grabbed third spot nationally for the total amount raised.
