A virtual welcome - The Rider Newspaper

Students competing in a stuffed animal horse race. — Students compete in a game during last year’s Week of Welcome in the Quad on the Edinburg campus. Week of Welcome will be a series of virtual events starting today, where students will learn about resources and active organizations through info depots and have fun playing virtual games.

Sol Garcia | THE RIDER

To greet new and returning students this spring semester, UTRGV will host its Week of Welcome with virtual game shows, lotería and giveaways.

“We have some new incoming students who always join us during the spring semester,” said Lauren Contreras, assistant director of Student Activities. “We want to welcome them and make sure they feel a part of UTRGV and, then, also just welcome back our students who are returning with us.”

Week of Welcome begins today with an info depot from the Student Union livestreamed on their Facebook page at 2 p.m. Sergio Martinez, director of Housing and Residence Life, will speak about living on campus.

Student roasting marshmallows in a pit at a lawn on Edinburg campus — Student Andrea Lerma roasts a marshmallow on the Student Union lawn during last year’s Week of Welcome on the Brownsville campus. The Student Union will host its first virtual info depot at 2 p.m. today. Other events scheduled include a Survey Game Show, lotería, a photoshoot, Back to School Trivia Game and Lip Sync Battle.
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The Student Union’s second virtual info depot will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Homer Villalobos, assistant director of Card Services, will discuss the V OneCard and VBucks.

Student Activities will livestream an info depot on the Student Life Facebook page at 3 p.m. today and Tuesday.

The Civic Engagement Alliance will host a virtual info depot at 5 p.m. Tuesday via Zoom. On Wednesday, the alliance will host its second online info depot at 3 p.m.

Student Activities will host a Survey Game Show at 6 p.m. Tuesday through Zoom, where students can compete for cash prizes. RSVP is available through VLink.

The Campus Activities Board will award VBucks at its lotería game at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Zoom.

Students can cultivate friendships while playing, said Alejandra Santos, Cultural Committee chair for the Campus Activities Board and a computer science senior.

“[Students] always make friends through our loterías,” Santos said. “You get to see that connection grow between people, even if it’s virtual.”

The Student Union will host a UTRGV Photoshoot at 2 p.m. Thursday to showcase UTRGV’s best photo spots.

Students can then show their trivia skills at the Student Union and Student Activities’ Back to School Game Show with Jay Black, three-time college comedian of the year. The contest will be livestreamed via Twitch at 6 p.m. Thursday with prizes offered. RSVP is available on VLink.

“Through these different events … we’re finding a way to engage each and every single person while providing something informative and useful for them,” said Mabel Cortina-Matos, Student Union event manager.

The last virtual event will be Student Activities’ Lip Sync Battle at 3 p.m. Friday via Zoom. The winner will receive a Golden Mic. RSVP is available on VLink.

Student Activities considered conducting a drive-thru or another in-person event for Week of Welcome but decided against it for the UTRGV community’s safety, Contreras said.

“After reevaluating COVID[-19] cases, we really wanted to keep our UTRGV students safe, as well as our staff and faculty, so we opted to do everything virtual … for this week,” she said.

Although virtual, students can look forward to learning about available resources and active organizations through the depots, having fun at the events and meeting their peers, Contreras said.

“We really want our events to serve as a platform for students to be able to see each other, really interact, play games together and just have fun,” she said.

To RSVP for events, visit VLink.