Massey O-Week success despite stutter start
After a brief lockdown period where things looked uncertain, Massey and its student associations have been able to confidently reboot and revise the O-Week festivities.
In Palmerston North, the Massey University Students' Association (MUSA), halls of residence and Massey decided to do a FutureFest Make-Up as the alert levels lifted. The events were from 7pm onwards Thursday to Saturday, held across the campus. MUSA President Fatima Imran says, “We had music cranking. It was for the first years mainly so they had a space to enjoy themselves despite all the big events being cancelled.”
Videos posted by MUSA show crowds of around 20-30 people dancing, with 62 students having clicked “going” on the event page. One student said the make-up events were “a little bit shit and sad, but it was nice that they tried to throw something together. I think people appreciated that.”
In Wellington, the night-time O-Week events, held in a collaboration between Victoria University of Wellington Students' Association (VUWSA) and Massey at Wellington Students' Association (MAWSA), were all able to go ahead with minor line-up adjustments after the return to Alert Level 1 on Wednesday. MAWSA President Tessa Guest says the events so far have all been a “smash hit”. “It looked like the students had the time of their lives, and everyone was looked after well. It was easy to spot the Massey students, because they’d see our blue MAWSA t-shirts and yell ‘MASSEYYYYY’, which was adorable.” One student confirmed that the vibes were “lit” to various drunken cheers.
Daytime O-Week events have also been still full steam ahead in the first week of the semester, with Tessa reporting that “the vibes are through the roof so far. We’ve had sunshine, good tunes, lots of food to give out, and lots of good yarns with freshers. I think we’ve got a pretty top-notch batch of incoming students this year!” The live music reportedly drew complaints from surrounding classrooms and staff, which is how you know it’s a good time.
In Albany, Albany Students' Association (ASA) President Ben Austin reports that their O-Week is scheduled to happen in Week 2 alongside Clubs Day and other club events. Despite initial disappointment at the postponement, first year Bella made the most out of the situation, and believes it made her closer with the others in her hall. “We have been doing smaller group events like mug painting and a quiz night which has been super fun. Watching the online events with friends has been good.” Now her and her fellow first years may get to enjoy the feeling of a second O-Week, as the postponed events return to campuses.