DANBURY, CONN. — Western Connecticut State University welcomes its new students with a week full of orientation activities and ceremonies, beginning Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, on the Midtown campus, 181 White St. in Danbury. “Welcome Week” activities include traditional orientation events geared toward helping new students adjust to college life, as well as workshops for parents and relatives. Campus tours will be led from the Midtown Student Center lobby, leaving at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

A highlight of Welcome Week is the “Entering the Gates” ceremony, set to take place at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 25, on the Midtown campus. A symbolic as well as physical entering of the university starts off the academic year as new students are ushered through the picturesque wrought-iron main gates by alumni, faculty and returning students. New students are asked to wear WCSU “Aspire” T-shirts — to be handed out earlier in the day — for the event, which is followed immediately by the university “Opening Ceremony.”

Sporting events also are scheduled to take place, with the women’s volleyball team hosting an invitational starting at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, in the Feldman Arena of the O’Neill Center on the Westside campus, 43 Lake Ave. Extension in Danbury. Competing will be teams from Purchase State University, Brandeis University, Rivier University and Mount Ida College. More informal student events, such as “RecFest ’14,” will take place on the Quad, with activities including Ultimate Frisbee, wiffle ball and even bungee jumping. Students can relax on the Quad or play dodgeball and volleyball in the gym.

Also part of the student orientation program are evening performances by illusionist Joel Meyers on Monday, band Cover Drive on Tuesday, comedy duo Frangela on Wednesday and mentalist Banachek on Thursday, which will provide students with entertainment as well a chance to get to know one another. A Clubs Carnival, advertising student organizations, is set for Wednesday afternoon, followed by a barbecue for students. A raffle will take place at the beginning of the week, giving new students the opportunity to win prizes — including half a semester of in-state tuition — with a drawing taking place on Wednesday.

Welcome Week isn’t just about Frisbee on the Quad, however. There will be a series of rotating 20-minute workshops where new students will be given the tools they need to be successful at Western during their first year. There will also be events at the campus bookstore where new students can stock up on textbooks and the supplies they’ll need once classes officially begin on Thursday, Aug. 28.

Students will be able to pick up their class schedules and student IDs, as well as receive

their computer log-in credentials, during scheduled blocks of time throughout the orientation week. Residential students will move into their residence halls on the Midtown campus on Monday, and parents will have the opportunity to attend workshops to help with the transition of sending their children to college. An alumni “Legacy Photo” will be taken at noon on Monday on the steps of Old Main, where relatives and incoming students can commemorate multiple generations of WCSU attendees.

For a complete list of Welcome Week activities, go to www.wcsu.edu/orientation/full-schedule-ww.asp.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York.  Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.