Ask Hilary Hicks, Brittany Spraggins, and Hilary Mellon what they’re most looking forward to during Dalton State’s Week of Welcome (August 16 – 20) and they’ll say, almost in unison, the “Foam Dance Party.”

Part of the reason is that, well, hey, doesn’t everybody love to dance? But also, this marks the first time that the Campus Activities Board (CAB) has hosted a social event on a Friday night, which may be just one more indicator of changes that having residential life has brought to campus.

“Lots of students are excited about this event,” says Hicks, of the Foam Dance Party, noting that now that greater numbers of students live on campus, the dance should be well attended.

“We will have a big ‘blow-up’ square ‘container’ on the quadrangle outside the Pope Student Center, and it will be filled up with foam,” she says, adding that a disc jockey will be in charge of making the quad, and the soapy square, “rock.”

Casual dress will be the order of the day, says Mellon, who encourages t-shirts or other durable attire, as the foam might be a bit, well, messy.

But the Foam Dance Party is not the Week of Welcome activity that these CAB organizers are excited about.

They’re also stoked about the “Human iTunes” performer, John Taglieri, and the “Make your own Dry Erase Board and Flip Books” activity, both of which will be held in the Pope Student Center. And there’s the comedian Ronnie Jordan, who, they all agree, is “one of the best comedians ever,” and one who does a very cool impression of American Idol’s Ruben Studdard.

And certain favorites will be back, including the Ice Cream Social, hosted by President John Schwenn and the College Vice Presidents; the Day for Dalton, during which local businesses and restaurants can strut their stuff; Watermelon Wednesday, where the Alumni Relations folks will provide servings of the juicy fruit on the quad; and the Back-to-School Barbeque, complete with all the “fixin’s”.

While many of the Week of Welcome’s 10 events have become beloved annual traditions, still others are “first runs,” chosen by representatives from Student Activities and the Campus Activities Board who travel to Atlanta for the national Association for the Promotion of Campus Activities (APCA) conference. During that conference, campus event planners from all over the southeast get to see and hear various acts and performers and try to choose events that they feel will be well received by their home campuses.

“We watch every single one,” says Mellon, of the various performances, noting that it’s not always possible to book every single act that they like, but that the line-up this year is one that they’re especially pleased with.

“We definitely have the best jobs on campus,” says Spraggins, who particularly likes the Flip Books activity where small groups of students can sing or dance as their images are projected on a screen and are then condensed into cartoon-style Flip Book.

And the Funny T-shirts activity will provide yet another “hands-on” experience in which a photograph of a student’s face will be placed on a personalized T-shirt.

One of the best things about Week of Welcome is that everything is free – from the barbeque to the T-shirts to the watermelon and ice cream.

Because so much work goes into setting up for these campus events, CAB members like Hicks, Spraggins, and Mellon say they hope that students, faculty, and staff will volunteer to help out where they can.

“The Week of Welcome is going to be crazy,” says Mellon, noting that at least one CAB Executive Board member (currently there are only six) will need to be present during each event.

“During the next few weeks, we’ll do the most of our planning and preparations,” says Spraggins, who encourages others to join in the fun.

To volunteer, email CAB organizers at cab@daltonstate. CAB is open to the entire campus body, and meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month at 12:15 pm in the Student Activities Conference Room. All are welcome!

Full Schedule for Week of Welcome

Monday, August 16

The Human iTunes, John Taglieri (Come try to stump him. Bet you can’t.)

12:15 pm - Pope Student Center

Funny T-shirts

12:00 – 2:00 pm Pope Student Center

Tuesday, August 17

Make your own Dry Erase Board and Flip Books

9:00 am – 1:00 pm - Pope Student Center

Ice Cream Social with the President and Vice Presidents

1:00 – 3:00 pm - Pope Student Center

Wednesday, August 18

Day for Dalton

9:00 am – 12:00 pm - Outside of Pope Student Center

Watermelon Wednesday

11:00 am – 1:00 pm - On the Quadrangle (sponsored by Alumni Relations)

Thursday, August 19

Back to School Barbeque and Registered Student Organization (RSO) Fair

11:00 am – 1:00 pm - Lower Level of Pope Student center

5:00 – 6:30 pm

Comedian Ronnie Jordan

12:15 pm - Pope Student Center

Friday, August 20

Foam Dance Party

8:00 – 11:00 pm On the Quadrangle