It is that time of year again where we welcome students back to McMaster. There has been a great deal of planning done for Welcome Week and there is a great deal of support for both the students and the community available. Here is an overview of the planned activities and a summary of the extra police presence for Welcome Week and the start of the term.
Planned McMaster Activities
NB: All university sponsored events are alcohol free. In addition, outdoor events will be monitored by Municipal Law Enforcement to ensure noise levels meet regulatory standards. All evening events will end by 11 pm.
Labour Day weekend starts the process with residence move-in scheduled for Saturday and Sunday for just over 3,000 first year students. A further 600 upper year students move-in on Monday. This year there are approximately 5,400 new students coming to McMaster. This is about the average number of new students McMaster has welcomed for the past several years.
Saturday and Sunday, the Student Success Centre and the School of Arts will be presenting an orientation drama giving residence students an insight into university life. In addition, there are a number of walking tours and orientation events finishing up with an outdoor social on Sunday evening at BSB Field.
Labour Day Monday, there are a couple of new events to introduce students to their new community. These include food and tasting tours in Westdale Village, walking tours of downtown Hamilton and hiking at Spencer’s Gorge and Webster’s Falls. The annual Labour Day Football Game starts at 1 pm. Various social events are planned on campus for Monday evening.
Tuesday there are a number of activities to introduce students to the various faculty buildings and staff finishing off with a concert at Faculty Hollow. A new student sleepover is planned on Tuesday evening for students living off-campus.
On Wednesday, there are a number of workshops geared to successful studies. Safety First – a mandatory demo on Fire Safety for all residence students starts on Wednesday. The Fire Department will actually be putting on a live demonstration of a fire in a building. The annual Pyjama Parade takes place in the Westdale Community from 6 pm to 8 pm. Come out and welcome the students along the route on Sterling, Dalewood, Paisley and Dromore. There will be a significant police presence of 27 officers at the Parade and in the neighbourhood including the Mounted Patrol.
Thursday, classes get underway with faculties hosting various socials until 9 pm.
On Friday, students give back to the community with a community clean up. Prizes offered in various categories for garbage pick-up and clean up. An Air bands competition ends Friday in Faculty Hollow.
Saturday look for students participating in Shinerama. Last year they raised over $90,000 and they hope to improve on that this year. Cystic Fibrosis is the recipient of this charitable work. A final concert in Faculty Hollow happens Saturday night.
Sunday morning the annual bed races occur on campus along with various closing ceremonies until 9 pm.
Police and By-Law Enforcement
Of course, we all know that activities will spill into the neighbourhoods. There will be increased Campus Patrol, Bylaw and Police scheduled every day of Welcome Week. McMaster is once again paying for dedicated police resources (the Mac 91/92 patrol) for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights all month. These additional resources will be on duty late night until 4 am. In addition, an ACTION Team – which can include bicycle and equestrian units – will be deployed in the area from Wednesday through Saturday of Welcome Week.
If you experience any problems in your neighbourhood, please call 905-546-4925 and police will dispatch resources on a priority basis.
McMaster and various community agencies have worked hard to plan for a fun, safe week for students and the community. Get to know your student neighbours by helping to distribute Welcome Kits. We hope to see you at the PJ Parade on Wednesday.