Maura Twiggs
September 10 2015
Freshman ’15 Blog
Welcome Week: Building Wars
We stared the other team down across the picnic table. Things were getting serious. Each team had put forth their champion to part take in the highest honor of Welcome Week even Building Wars: the Watermelon Eating Contest. Earlier, when our RA Nancy (Mom as we adoring call her on our floor) told us the morning and afternoon would be filled with different events in which we would compete against other freshman dorm buildings, I’ll admit I was weary. However, right from the start the positive attitudes of the other RA’s, SET team members, and workers who brought equipment to the quad for the day, were infectious and I couldn’t help but be completely immersed in the action. Each building was assigned a color to wear. D Building was lime green, and even though its not a color in most people’s wardrobe, everyone had a piece of green to wear. At the sign up table, SET members had colored strips of fabric corresponded with each building. Some kids wore them as headbands, others as ankle or arm bands. This small and seemingly simple idea unified us as a team. From challenge to challenge, it didn’t matter if we won or lost (although we dominated), what mattered most was spending time with each other, getting to know our building better and also meeting other freshman. Some of the people I went toe to toe with that day remain close, I couldn’t be more pleased I attended this event. It not only made me get out there and meet people, it also had activities for a range of skills. There was Stockton trivia, athletic games, ice breakers, scavenger hunts, and my personal favorite, food eating contests. So, here we stand, undefeated green team, our chorus of “D building- YOU BETTER BE LEAF IT” up in the air, ready to face off the grey team in a watermelon eating contest. RA Anthony Thawley tells the eaters to be at the ready-set-go, and a ruckus of egging on and encouragement echoed from both teams. It was both my favorite moment of Building Wars, and a Welcome Week event I will never forget.