By Gabrielle Liu — Junior Copy Editor

The SRC’s Winter O-Week, the smaller sister of its fall component, began on Sunday, Jan. 8, and concluded on Thursday, Jan. 12. Of the 400 new students, roughly half were entering a graduate program. Another half of the incoming undergraduates were exchange students, according to SRC Director of Events, Hannah MacQueen. Because of that, O-Week had to be planned not just for a smaller group of students (as it is designed mainly for undergrads) but be adaptable to the size of the crowd. There was uncertainty about how many transfer or exchange students would be able to arrive that week. Unlike Fall O-Week, there were no judges. Instead, O-Week participants split into just two teams, and participation hovered between 15-50 people per event.

The Opening Ceremony was held at the Gait on Sunday night. While it did not draw as large of a crowd as other events, students such as Ayla Vandenhende, from Belgium, pointed to the ceremony as one of the highlights of their week – as a space to be among and meet others in the same boat. Morgan Bain, from Ottawa, also said the Opening Ceremonies were a favourite. It helped us “get into the spirit of things,” she said, echoing MacQueen’s comment on how O-Week brings people feeling anxious or homesick together. The SRC distributed O-Week packs at the ceremonies, had the participants sign up for teams and led team bonding games. MacQueen mentioned that part of the presentation included a Land Acknowledgement and explanation of the Acknowledgements’ purpose and significance. Many students were coming from abroad, she said, and even those who were Canadian may not be familiar with why Land Acknowledgments are conducted.

Monday’s Dewies team breakfast served to inform off-campus students this was a dining hall open to them as well. Later that day, students bused to the Carrefour de l’Estrie mall and ventured to the Combat d’Archers Sherbrooke for a high-energy archery-styled dodgeball game.

Tuesday’s two mandatory events, the academic tours and Bystander Training, brought a higher number of attendees, at least 40, according to MacQueen. Adam Ahlstrano Christensen, an exchange student from Denmark, said that he enjoyed BU International’s information session at Centennial Theatre. “It was just so wholesome,” he commented, being able to hear from different students and learn about the resources offered. Vandenhende, too, spoke of O-Week being particularly supportive to transfer students settling in. One thing Christensen wished had been added to the information session was more perspective on Canadian academic culture and academic expectations at Bishop’s – navigating the “norms” of the classrooms. He expressed that the academic tours were useful, saying that those who had not joined “missed out”, since he still had a bit of trouble finding his classroom that morning. That night’s pizza and trivia at the Gait proved to be the most popular event in attendance, according to MacQueen, and several students stayed for the open bar afterward.

Wednesday’s SRC Extra Day at the Gait saw a bustling room of new and seasoned Gaiters making their way through a circle of club booths. Temitope, a graduate student from Nigeria entering the computer science program, signed up with the Caribbean and African Students Association and explained that she had just arrived at Bishop’s that day – the BUSRC Club Fair was her first O-Week event. “Everyone here is so nice and friendly,” she said, speaking of people’s willingness to help answer her questions. Later that afternoon, a group of participants went sledding on the golf course. Mentioning how she went sledding that day too, MacQueen noted that because of the smaller number of students, “I could interact with them much more than I could have in the fall.” O-Week wound down on Thursday with a garage sale open to all, held by the Sustainable Development Office and Buildings & Grounds, and finally, the Closing Ceremonies bringing the festivities full circle back to the Gait.