By Robyn Sanders
Reporter
Baylor students and visitors on campus should expect to encounter a massive gathering of student organizations and even watch a game of Quidditch at Fall Premiere this weekend.
Quidditch, a sport played in the Harry Potter series but modified slightly for “muggles,” involves two teams of players running around on broomsticks and trying score a ball, the “quaffle,” in the opposite team’s goal hoops. Kelly Devoe, coordinator of visit events, said the Quidditch match will take place Friday at noon on Fountain Mall.
Devoe also said the Quidditch team is a new group to campus that prospective and current students will be able to experience.
Fall Premiere will be hosted by the Baylor office of admissions, along with organizations such as the Baylor chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, Campus Living and Learning and Student Activities.
The event is for prospective Baylor students to come experience the campus and learn about what college life will be like. This year, along with the expected 1,500 prospective students, the event will feature more current student involvement than ever before. Ross VanDyke, assistant director of campus visits, said the increased interest could bring the total attendance to 4,000 or 5,000 people.
Devoe said the goal is for current students to be able to connect with prospective students “to give an accurate picture of what their next four years could look like.”
The event will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday with an opening session in the Ferrell Center. From 9:30 to 11:45 a.m., visiting students can attend two academic sessions, with presentations by Baylor professors, in the academic field of their choice.
Then, from 11 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., visiting students and their families can embark on a variety of activities such as campus tours, a residence hall open house, a study abroad information session, and the Baylor Bear Fair which will take place at Founder’s Mall.
VanDyke said 80 student organizations will be represented at Fall Premiere’s Baylor Bear Fair instead of the usual 30 or 40 groups.
“I think it will just give them a real sense of what it will be like to go to school here,” VanDyke said.
Baylor’s Air Force and Army ROTC units will be also present, Devoe said, and they will be taking “an active role in serving our guests,” by directing them around campus and helping out in dining halls at lunch. Fall Premiere will end at 3:45 p.m. following a closing session in Waco Hall.
Devoe said she hopes the current and prospective student interaction will help visiting students decide which university to choose.
“The main thing we hope is that they’ll walk away with is knowing if Baylor is the best place for them,” Devoe said.
