Hybrid 101 Week to feature 29 events
The University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) has unveiled its plans for this year’s 101 Week. The event, which will run from Sept.5 to Sept.10, will be open to both first and second-year students. This will give second-year students, who did not have the opportunity to have a proper in-person 101 Week due to COVID-19 in 2020, the warm welcome they deserve to the University of Ottawa campus.
With that said, those who decide to stay home for the fall semester will also get to experience 101 Week, as many activities will be held in a hybrid format. One such activity is the annual Shinerama fundraiser, which will be held on Sept. 7 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Shinerama is an annual fundraiser to raise funds for cystic fibrosis, a fatal genetic disease which affects thousands of Canadians. UOSUpromises that this year’s event will feature annual fundraising, tons of fun activities, and engaging speakers. A frosh week tradition, the event has been held since the mid-1960s at the U of O. Here’s a Fulcrum piece from 1990 detailing that year’s Shinerama.
According to its website, the UOSU expects over 15,000 students to be present on campus for 101 Week. The union says it has 29 unique events for participants. To help students keep track of events, it has created an online schedule with all the info in one location.
This year’s 101 Week will only feature alcohol-free activities to comply with public health guidelines. According to UOSU president Tim Gulliver, the Union is exploring the possibility of holding a second frosh for the winter semester which would feature activities with alcohol. The tenure of a winter 101 Week will depend on the public health guidelines in January according to Gulliver.
In coordination with student associations and recognized student governments (RSGs), the union will be selling frosh kits on Tabaret Lawn from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sept. 4. Those who won’t be able to attend can order their frosh kits online and pick them up on Sept. 6 at Tabaret lawn or from Sept. 6-10 at the UOSU office in the Jock-Turcott University Centre (UCU).
The events
In terms of events, 101 Week will begin on the evening of Sunday, Sept 6. with an hour-long opening ceremony on Zoom. This ceremony will be followed by an educational event on consent. The late-night programming will begin at 9 p.m., and features an event titled the ‘Human Library’. According to the union, this event will encourage conversations about “groups in our society that [are] often subjected to prejudice, stigmatization or discrimination because of their lifestyle, diagnosis, belief, disability, social status, ethnic origin etc.”
Moving on to Monday, froshers will have the chance to ask questions to alumni in a virtual Q&A hosted by UOSU at 10 a.m. UNICEF uOttawa will host a city-wide treasure hunt starting at 10:30 a.m., and the Fulcrum will be serving up free burgers and hot dogs to students on the Morisset terrace from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Monday will also feature the first Franco Ice breakers for Francophone students, the traditional Take Back The Night, and a trivia battle between Gee-Gee and Raven froshers at 8 p.m.
On Tuesday, following Shinerama, 101 Week participants will be invited to showcase their painting skills at Pintura on the Hill, which will take place at Major Hill’s Park at 6 p.m. A magic show put on by the Toronto Magic Company will follow on Zoom at 8 p.m.
Highlights for Wednesday include an all-day hybrid club’s fair, bubble soccer at Matt Anthony Field from 8 to 9 p.m., and a UOSU-hosted drag show at the same time in a location that is as of yet undetermined.
Thursday will feature the service fair, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both on Twitch and in the UCU. Other events that day include the Franco Fest, which will start at 8 p.m., and Escape UO, a hybrid activity where participants will get to discover the U of O campus while being guided by upper-year students. This event will run from 4 to 7 p.m.
Finally, to close off 101 Week on Sept.10, campus groups will hold the Social Justice Fair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will also be a free picnic and BBQ on Tabaret Lawn between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. Finally, there will be a murder mystery event that will take place from 8 to 10 p.m. on the digital platform Gather.
