CEB Welcomes Students Back to School

Underneath cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60s on Sunday evening, students twirled cotton candy and jumped on a moon bounce at the College Events Board’s Welcome Back Event, which attendees said they enjoyed but thought was not well publicized.

The annual event in Tercentenary Theatre, this year called the Magic of Summer, was originally planned for Sept. 1, but was rescheduled to the later date. Many students said that despite the chilly weather, they still enjoyed participating in the activities.

The event included tire swings, hula hoops, a DJ playing music, as well as a dunk tank featuring House Masters and the Dean of Student Life, among others. Harvard University Dining Services provided dinner that included burgers, corn on the cob, and pasta salad.

“It’s pretty cool. There’s a lot of different games,” James E. Piltch ’17 said. “I like that [people] aged 18 to 22 can jump on the moon bounce.”

Other students said they enjoyed the music played by the DJ on the steps of Memorial Church.

“I like the music, and that they take requests,” Fatima M. Bishtawi ’17 said as she sat with her friend on the colorful chairs on the grass.

Deanna L. Emery ’17 also enjoyed the musical selection.

“The music makes it seem festive,” Emery said. “There’s a lot of activities.”

Although most attendees said that the event itself was fun, several also added that they were not aware of the event happening until Sunday evening. Annie Dai ’17 said she learned about the event through Facebook statuses that said that Annenberg was closed for dinner.

“It was a surprise to come down to dinner and find that there was no food,” Jude D. Russo ’16 said as he ate his dinner on Widener steps.

Kyle Gobrogge, a freshman proctor, was unaware of the event before it started on Sunday evening.

“I didn’t hear about it until I heard the music, and then I came to see what was going on,” Gobrogge said.

Others wondered if the event was not well publicized due to rescheduling.

“It was [well publicized] last week, but I forgot it was rescheduled to today,” Amanda J. N. Mozea ’17 said.

CEB co-chair Laura Hogikyan ’14 declined to comment on the event and did not respond to requests for comment on students’ claims that the event was poorly publicized.

–Staff writer Laya Anasu can be reached at laya.anasu@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @LayaAnasu.

—Staff writer Madeline R. Conway can be reached at mconway@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @MadelineRConway.