Serena Anagbe / Photo Editor
Students at the Get Involved Fair.

Orientation week sets the stage for the rest of the year. Better known as O-Week, it is usually catered towards the incoming first-years, although there are a few events that are open to all students. This year, there was the Get Involved Fair and the O-Carnival.

“It got me excited to actually join some leadership roles and help plan events too because it seems like there is a really fun culture around planning and hosting events at this school,” said first-year game development and design student Oscar Gorbet.

The Get Involved Fair is an event that can benefit everyone, plus there are always new things to see and clubs to check out. This year there were the clubs, committees and sponsors as always as well as something that always draws students in…free food. Some of the local eateries in Brantford brought some food for the students to sample.

The Get Involved Fair is also a chance for people to realize how many other different people there are on the campus and the opportunities that are out there for each person.

“Volunteer morale was also high this year which helps with the get involved fair specifically like if the volunteers are excited and signing up for committees then the first years and other students will as well,” said Koyal Vyas, vice president of programming and services.

Brantford is a small campus, so many people don’t realize how many committees, clubs and teams there are for students to try out for and join. This fair gave many people the chance to walk throughout the Research and Academic Centre courtyard where the booths were and really see what the school has to offer.

“It helped show me a bunch of clubs that I didn’t know existed but am really interested in,” said Gorbet.

Now, the O-Carnival is usually a big hit during orientation week, and it is also usually reserved for only first-years to partake in. This year was the first year that it was opened up to all Laurier students. Something a little different that had a very positive reaction.

“First-year students get to meet older students in their programs and so they can ask them questions there too,” said Shinerama executive Megan Jacobs.

There were many people who had their O-Week online for the most part, and never got to experience these in-person events in their first year.

“I think that it went really well. I liked how they opened it up to all years,” said Jacobs. “There were a lot of people who came out and got to reconnect with each other after the summer and they had a lot of cool events there that I wish that I had in my first year.”

What a way to finish off the second day of classes.

“It’s important for students to know that the Students’ Union is going to continue these events throughout the year…things will start very soon,” said Vyas, giving students a heads-up. “O-Week was just the beginning of it.”

This article was originally published in print Volume 23, Issue 2 on Thursday, Oct. 5.