Students fail to appear

Ah, Welcome Week: The time for freshmen to engage in academic, social and spirit activities to adapt to USC.  The events, characterized by low turnout, were not exactly the way I envisioned college to be.

As the bright orange bins and oversized suitcases rolled into the lobbies of residence halls, students across campus shook hands with their roommates and hugged their parents goodbye.

After unpacking boxes, tucking in new bed comforters and figuring out how to hang a cork board without putting holes in the walls, undergraduates were now faced with the diverse options of Welcome Week.

I strolled with low expectations to the Taste of Annenberg event.They soon slapped a nametag on my chest that allowed me not only to meet fellow students in my major but explore the variety of clubs and organizations within it.

Though it seemed too early to start learning, the quirky micro-seminars offered were sure to get undergraduates excited. From “Comedy as Social Critique” to “The Ethics of Lord of the Rings,” these micro-seminars covered so many topics of interest that it was impossible not to enjoy it. This, however, did not stop a large portion of freshmen from abstaining from these workshops simply because they were not required.

Four of my own suitemates preferred to sleep in an hour later rather than take advantage of the offered seminars.

Nonetheless, the week had its fair share of instructions as well as entertainment with the SPARK! multimedia showcase, a job fair and a powerful performance on the effects of sexual assault. The dive-in movie made me jealous I wasn’t brave enough to hop into the pool and watch Easy A from the comforts of an inner tube.

Hundreds of undergraduates gathered for the highlighter party to shuffle, dougie and inevitably grind to the top-40 hits produced by the afro-adorned DJ.

The turnout yet again was not as big as it could have been. Perhaps this was because the eager freshmen enthusiastic to “check out” The Row or experience their first genuinecollege party.

The Office of Campus Activities brought local vendors to McCarthy Quad to host a gift-giving carnival, but a lack of attendance caused several to leave early and seek other entertainment.

Though the indie-rock group Tokyo Police Club brought USC students to their feet with their hits “Tessellate” and “Favourite Color,” some students still felt a bigger headliner could have played, given the school’s finances.

I was the girl hesitant to start new friendships and attend “freshman” events, but for the events I did attend I was satisfied.

Despite lackluster turnouts in some events, all the functions met their intention of gathering freshmen and acclimating them to their new campus — not enabling them to figure out who is the go-to booze guy.

Never before could I walk into someone’s room and introduce myself or ask somebody’s major in an elevator.

Welcome Week made this possible, and more importantly it made it OK.

We all have plenty of time to party or even study, but Welcome Week is the one time of the year that a group of incoming students can experience the start of their new lives together.

The class of 2015 simply did not take advantage of it.

Jacy White is a freshman majoring in print and digital journalism.