Kari Michaels and Ashley Fehr of the KSA welcome students back to classes at the Langley campus. (Cori Alfreds photo)

The Langley campus had its Welcome Week Wednesday (Jan. 14) and it wasn’t nearly as busy as Richmond’s Welcome Week, held the day before, even though the Langley campus featured a band playing in the cafeteria.

There were about 10 tables of display, some were from Langley community groups such as Rotaract, and from Langley Township. The rest of the display tables were promoting services within Kwantlen, such as the Student Health Improvement Program and the Learning Centre.

Welcome Week at each of Kwantlen’s campuses is well under way and takes a bit more planning than suspected at first glance.

There are four Kwantlen campuses spread out across the Lower Mainland, each with different demographics and different needs.

According to Ashley Fehr, Kari Michaels and Vanessa Knight of the Kwantlen Student Association, Welcome Week is designed to address each campus’s individual needs.

Fehr says that the Langley campus is more conservative and religious so the KSA makes the welcome week activities a lot quieter than the other campuses.

She says that the Richmond campus is more hip-hop based and a lot of fun but “they don’t really like loud stuff.” Knight adds that the Richmond campus likes pool and poker tournaments rather than bands.

Michaels and Fehr say that the trade’s campus in Cloverdale is pretty much up for “whatever” and will do anything in any contest.

Fehr says that the Surrey campus is really busy so most of the students just walk by the Welcome Week activities, even though the campus is the largest.

All of the specifically designed Welcome Week days have the same purpose, to promote the KSA and local businesses in the areas, Fehr says.

She adds that welcome week this January is meant to raise awareness among the students for the 2009 KSA elections.