This year’s orientation will be a mix of music, movies, parties, and a little political activism to boot that the CSU is promising will “turn the campus inside out.” ”
“We don’t want to steer away from entertainment, but to challenge students on a more intellectual level,” said Orientation Week coordinator Sarah Dent.
Organized in co-operation with the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA), organizers are hoping that the week of events beginning Sept. 9 will appeal to the broadest range of students possible. One thing that Dent wants to ensure is that this isn’t the typical ‘Frosh’ depicted in Hollywood movies.
“We want to stay away form that negative high school mentality [of simply drinking for an entire week],” she explained.
At a cost of approximately $65,000, the majority of which is being provided by the Concordia Council for Student Life, the activities will be non-stop for an entire week, including the closure of Mackay Street on Thursday for an all-day street party. The festivities will culminate with Afrobeat collective Antibalas performing Friday night at 10 p.m. at the Spectrum, free for Concordia students.
For Farouk Janmohamed, special events coordinator for ASFA, Starting the the best part of the event isn’t even the activities, but that in working together, ASFA and the CSU seem to have moved beyond the differences that antagonized their relationship during the previous year.
“ASFA and the CSU have been working incredibly well together. The bad blood between us is finally gone,” said Janmohamed Although ASFA is also planning its own activities, such as a pub crawl with the Engineering and Computer Science Association on Sept. 5, Janmohamed feels the day-long events, particularly the tables being set up by student associations and clubs on the terrace behind Reggie’s, will help new students find others with common interests, and allow returning students to discover facets of the Concordia community they may have never noticed.
In a schedule of events released last week, the CSU outlined a five days of tabling, evenings with speakers and nights of music and movies.
Kicking off the political component on Monday will be awardwinning author and professor Lee Maracle speaking on Aboriginal women’s world views and neocolonialism.
Linda McQuaig, author, journalist and columnist for the Toronto Star, will speak Tuesday on the how the financial elite are to blame for shaping so-called socalled ‘global realities,’ in a lecture entitled Greed, Lust and the New Capitalism. Norman Finklestein rounds out the group when on Thursday the prolific writer on Middle East affairs discusses the current status of Israel- Palestine relations.
Highlights of the night-time events include an outdoor screening of cult-80s flick The Goonies on Monday night, followed by an 80’s night dance party at Reggie’s with DJ Molly, live entertainment at Reggie’s on Tuesday, and an outdoor media-art exposition on Wednesday.
Capping off the day-long street party on Thursday will be homegrown funk bands Dibondoko, finalists in this year’s CHOM L’Esprit local band competition and Kobayashi on the ASFA outdoor stage.
Friday is slated to be a day of student oriented workshops. Of particular interest to students will be Ted Wright’s talk on tenant’s rights. For a dose of nostalgia and lessons learned, David Austin will discuss the history of activism at ConU, including the 1969 “Computer Riots” against racism on campus.
Members of headlining band Antibalas will also be leading workshops on music and social responsibility.
For a complete Orientation Week schedule and more information, visit www.csu.tao.ca/orientation
