Dal's newest students become black and gold at orientation week

The first thing you notice on move-in day are the boxes, the bags, the bins.

They come in all colours: blue plastic, brown cardboard, transparent green, beige cloth. Some are expertly packed—the work of either efficient students or dedicated parents—while others appear sorted with a healthy dose of organized chaos.

They arrive in vehicles lined up on LeMarchant Street, inching slowly towards Howe Hall. They come carried in-hand towards Sheriff Hall, precariously grasped by parents and family members proudly supporting the big move. They move past the Student Union Building, where o-week kits are piled up against the wall, waiting to be claimed.

Move-in day—the official start of orientation week— is not just ‘day one’ for Dalhousie’s newest students. In some ways, it’s a ‘day zero’: a fresh start, the beginning of a sometimes challenging, often exciting journey that is likely to shape much of their lives to follow.

But even as the students switch from their street clothes to their assigned uniform—a brightly-coloured T-shirt, different for each house or group of students—those boxes suggest that they don’t exactly leave everything behind.

Hot sauce and headbands

Daniel Alleyne, found waiting in line to check in at Howe Hall, said that he made sure to pack his personal supply of hot sauce.

“Coming from Barbados, the food here in Canada can be a bit bland,” says the commerce student, with a polite laugh. As for the rest of the week, “I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m excited to meet people.”

Emma Roung, from Hamilton, Ontario, was so excited to get to Dal that her family was the first to arrive at Shirreff Hall, a full 45 minutes prior to the official move-in time. When asked about what items she made sure to pack, she first answers “my laptop,” before adding that her headbands are also a must-have.

“I brought about 17 of them,” she says, noting that they’re more for fashion than function.

Later in the day, Ms. Roung could be found zipping around the Studley quad on an adult tricycle while water fights and dance parties erupted around her.

“At times, it’s overwhelming...I’ve never done something like this before.”

A 'tunnel of love' welcome

That sense of ‘overwhelming’ is understandable: even before the afternoon field party breaks out, campus is filled with pirates, fire jugglers, and parents and students hustling together to get their initial campus business done.

Thankfully, there’s plenty of support. Dal staff and student volunteers are everywhere, sporting green ‘Ask Me’ buttons and eager to offer answers to inquisitive newcomers.

Then there’s the more than 260 orientation leaders, wearing white t-shirts featuring the Dal crest. In the morning, most are at the residences carrying boxes and bags, but those waiting for off-campus students to arrive camp out at the SUB, organizing a massive line of high fives for everyone who enters. They dub it, ‘The Tunnel of Love.’

Zac Brown, a third-year history and chemistry student and an o-week leader, stands off to the side, directing students and family members alike to take a run through the tunnel.

“I was excited when I came through orientation, and I wanted to share that experience,” he says, when asked why he got involved this year.

Fun events, sustainable goals

There are a ton of activities planned for the week, and everyone has their own favourite. Tara Buckle and Hayley Ewing, friends from Sackville, Nova Scotia who are living off-campus for their first year at Dal, say they’re taking part in o-week to meet new people.

“I’m excited about the black and gold night, and the Dal vs. SMU rugby game,” says Ms. Ewing. “I’m a spirit sort of person.”

“I’m really into music, so I’m excited about all the bands,” says Glen Merkley, from Sydney Cape Breton, waiting in line at the SUB to purchase his o-week kit and switch out his hip hop sweater for a Risley Hall T-shirt.

Also hanging around the SUB is Haley Williams, an o-week leader who is helping support a number of the week’s sustainability initiatives. This year, each new student gets a reusable coffee mug and water bottle in their kit, and Dal has partnered with the Halifax Regional Water Commission on a water station on the quad that’s supplying drinking and activity water alike.

“Providing these water stations for Dalhousie orientation week is one way we help students reduce their use of bottled water and encourage environmental awareness,” explains the commission’s James Campbell.

The o-week team will also be purchasing carbon offsets to account for greenhouse gas use—particularly for items like flights for DalFest bands—and, for the first time, there will be a baseline number generated that accounts for the total waste generated and energy consumed during the week. It will provide future o-week organizers something to build and improve upon.

“We don’t want to compromise a great time, but we just want to keep our city and planet in mind, keep them awesome,” says Ms. Williams. “We want to show our new students that we care about the environment here at Dal.”

"Black and yellow, black and yellow"

Other things Dal’s newest students seemingly care about: bouncy castles, water fights and human foosball.

After a brief period of relative quiet on campus—presumably, students getting settled in their rooms—the Studley quad becomes consumed activity for the afternoon field party. There’s a barbecue and information tables up by the Henry Hicks Building, inflatable activities on the perimeter, and a water-filled ‘splash zone’ right in the middle of it all.

Joe Johnson, from Kingston, Nova Scotia, is found getting his ‘land legs’ back after a short-but-noble attempt at riding the mechanical bull.

“That was scary but fun,” says the O’Brien Hall resident. As for o-week? “I love it! It’s such a blast!”

All across the field, new connections are being forged: not just friendships and acquaintances, but an introduction to a communal Dal spirit that goes beyond just a ‘house’ or a ‘residence.’

That spirit truly takes hold shortly after 2 p.m. Following welcome remarks from DSU Vice-President Student Life Jamie Arron, the DJ starts playing a popular track by rapper Wiz Khalifa. As it blasts from the speakers, all the o-week leaders start a giant dance-off that the new students quickly join, bouncing up and down in a giant mass of enthusiasm.

The song may be titled “Black and Yellow,” but everyone seems to know, in that moment, what it really signifies: that no matter what colour boxes your stuff came in, or what shade your T-shirt is, everyone on campus is now ‘black and gold.’

(Nick Pearce photo)