Newly initiated UFV India freshmen recently descended on Tamzaraa Kafe and Club for Fall Social 2018 — UFV India’s take on a classic fresher’s party celebration.
Bright strobes of colourful light flooded the dance floor as the night began, setting the tone for a high-energy evening of dancing and masquerade games.
“The Fall Social is all about welcoming new students to UFV,” says Saniya Kamra, UFV India Student Life Coordinator and co-organizer of the event. “It’s a celebration of a new school year and sets the tone for the semester ahead.”
Students arrived in their finest jackets and dresses in hopes of earning the event’s high title of Mr. or Ms. Fresher.
“The tradition is to crown a Mr. and Ms. Fresher based off of style and confidence,” says Kamra. “It’s all about celebrating confidence and having fun.”
A panel of three esteemed judges oversaw a three-stage selection process. First, students showcased their strut on a catwalk style runway-show. One by one students walked down the dance-floor and stuck a pose for the judges before striding back to a cheering crowd.
The judges then deliberated on who would move on to the second round — a masquerade dance.
“Selecting a dance partner was a chance encounter,” recalls Kamra. “We split students by gender and instructed them to choose from a variety of single-coloured masquerade masks. Once their masks were on, the girls had to choose a boy who had the same coloured mask as themselves.”
Rhythmic beats filled the building as the masked students showed-off their most impressive dance moves. Freshers Gurneet Kaur and Harsimar Singh were given honorable mention as best dancers of the evening.
To make a final selection of Mr. and Miss. Fresher, finalists were called to the front of the dancefloor to make a small speech to the judges and the student body.
“This was a chance for the finalists to introduce themselves to their peers”, says Kamra. “They exclaimed what they were excited about for the upcoming year, future career goals, and what they were proud of themselves for.”
Some finalists were proud of making so many new friends while being at UFV. Others explained their career and life goals which ranged from “to be happy and to make others happy”, to “being a successful business woman”, and to even starting their own business.
Judges Mike Ivanof, Lauren Dallow, and Cooper Symonds keenly listened to answers, looking for the students who demonstrated the most “confidence and eloquence in their speeches,” says Ivanof.
“Selecting Mr. Fresher was very difficult,” recalls Ivanof. “There were many very confident boys, and in the end it was a close decision. However, choosing Ms. Fresher was easier as it was unanimous; she presented the most articulate and eloquent speech.”
To the cheers of students and staff, Ekamdeep Singh and Jasleen Kundan were crowned Mr. and Ms. Fresher 2018.
“We are thankful to the students and staff who attended this year’s Fall Social,” says Kamra. “It was a huge success and we can’t wait until next year.”
