You’re at the bottom of the totem pole. You’re the youngest on campus. The least likely to be the most popular, and most likely the ones who looked lost on the first day of classes. Upperclassmen see you, and we definitely hear you, but do we appreciate you? You are the ones who when we are gone, will take over our campus, hold our positions, and compete in our majors. We’ve all been there, some longer than others, a proud member of the freshman class. It’s not the most comfortable at the bottom, but be not discouraged, someone loves you and appreciates you. Yes, they appreciate you being here at PV. Last week, UC honored and showed their love for their residents by holding a week long appreciation event.
UC Appreciation Week was celebrated for the first time this year. It was started by various Resident Life staff members as a way to let residents know that they appreciate them for choosing PV. “This week’s purpose is to allow residents to know we appreciate them and let them get to know the staff is here for them, and the opportunity to get to know the staff better. This is something we will continue to put on,” says UC Director Yvette Barker.
On Monday night residents were treated to free sno cones, popcorn and cotton candy at the UC courtyard. Later that night the residents participated in a mock family feud between buildings. Students were eager to participate and enjoyed answering the questions. CAs were having just as much fun hosting the event. “It’s pretty cool, just could have been in a bigger spot,” says Rodney Jackson, from building 36, referring to the location the event was held, the UC theatre. At the end of the night the ultimate victory was crowned to building 45.
On Tuesday residents were encouraged to take part in a day-long scavenger hunt on campus. Participants were to find answers to 32 questions pertaining to staff in the UC. Questions such as “She was married on New Years Day,” or “He’s a member of Omega Psi Phi,” were asked to get the residents to communicate with the staff and learn more about them. This not only kept the residents on their toes, but also gave them the chance to get to know the staff better. “For someone that doesn’t know anybody this gives them the opportunity to meet people and learn new things,” says Erick Thomas. Joel Dominguez says, “It lets you know the UC staff better.”
On Wednesday the resident CAs were able to put on their own programs for the residents in their buildings. It was a chance for CAs to be creative and for residents to interact with their CAs on a fun level.
On Thursday residents were invited to join in, at the Black party, an event hosted in the UC courtyard that requires you to dress in black to gain admission.
On Friday, the last night to celebrate and participate in UC appreciation week, the UC movie theatre opened at 7 p.m. to show scary movies to the residents. Students with nothing planned for Friday night would be able to get out, and interact with their peers and get a good scare, or laugh with their peers.
Overall the UC appreciation week was a success. UC residents came out in large numbers and the staff truly had high morale and enjoyed the interaction. I’m sure the UC staff looks forward to when they will be able to do this again. And one can raise the question ‘When will the Village follow suit, and act like they appreciate us?’