Tonight, Stanford will make a change to the traditional New Student Orientation calendar with the “Welcome Home Fest,” a series of activities in which new and returning students will be able to participate.
The festivities begin with an 8 p.m. concert in Memorial Auditorium from The Cataracs with Stanford band Sex Ray Vision (’11) opening the show. Several other events will overlap, including Ceramics Raku Firing from 9-11 p.m. in White Plaza, Stanford Comedy Night from 10 p.m. – 12 a.m. at Cubberley Auditorium featuring the SImps and Robber Barons, Open Mic Night at the CoHo from 10 p.m. – 12 a.m. and a FLiCKS double header in the Old Union Courtyard, where “Kung Fu Panda 2” will be shown at 10:30 p.m. followed by “The Hangover Part II.”
The night will also include the traditional BROC Party in the Tresidder Union Oak Room, sponsored by the Black Recruitment and Orientation Committee.
The change in the schedule comes partially from the absence of a home football game on Saturday, which freshmen traditionally attend.
However, the “Welcome Home Fest,” a night organized by several groups including Student Activities and Leadership (SAL) and the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU), is also the result of a push to provide more dry events at Stanford.
“We wanted to make more alcohol-free programming for students, which seems to be what both the University and the students want,” said Stephen Trusheim ’13, an organizer of the events. “We’re trying to create options instead of just going to the Row every Thursday, Friday, Saturday. This event is the first model.”
The organizers hope that having several different types of events will attract all students to at least one.
“We wanted to make sure that frosh are coming home to something they’d enjoy,” Trusheim said. “We wanted high and low energy, a party and non-party atmosphere, and I think we got most of that.”
Though the night is a test run, SAL, the ASSU and other groups hope that the “Welcome Home Fest” will be the first of many similar events at Stanford in the upcoming school year for students to enjoy.
“I hope at the end of the day that everyone has a great time. That’s it,” Trusheim said.