Welcome Week kicks off today, September 1 and run through Friday September 10.  All students are encouraged to participate in the activities, as admission for most events will be free.

“A Young Man’s Blues”

Students of the music, theatre and dance department at Oakland University are looking forward to the all-student production this weekend entitled on “A Young Man’s Blues.”

With Elton John as inspiration, the show is built around a young songwriter and his journey to L.A. in hopes of making it big, said Peter Giessl co-writer of the show with David Meese.

Giessl and Meese began writing the play in March, finishing mid-July, and the cast and crew has been rehearsing since the beginning of August.

The show will take place in the Varner Hall Studio Theatre with the following show times: Friday Sept. 3 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. as well as at 10 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.

Tickets will be available at the door and Giessl said admission is free. However, a suggested donation of $5 is encouraged, as the money raised will go towards sending the Actors ‘N’ Techies group to the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in January this year.

Car and Formula Hybrid Demonstration

OU’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) will present their 2010 formula car on Wednesday, Sept. 1. The group took 36th place out of 120 teams at the SAE International Competition in the spring.

The group will demonstrate and “show off the dynamic abilities of the car” in P1 parking lot, said Stephen Parker, co-president of the organization, from 6-8 p.m.  The group, which completes a new car from scratch every year, has designed and built a vehicle that accelerates from zero to 60 in under four seconds, he said.

“We have been doing really well. Hopefully we can keep the move going,” Parker said.

There will also be an SAE picnic on Sept. 2 from noon to 3 p.m. at the Oakland Center, where the 2010 competition car will be presented as well as the Formula Hybrid vehicle that is currently a work in progress, said Kirk McGuire, also with SAE.

A smaller group of students have been working on the Formula Hybrid vehicle for nearly a year and plan to have “it up and running on electric but not yet hybrid before snowfall,” said McGuire.  The crew has hopes of completing the vehicle by this spring.

Some of the group’s robots, including one named Franken-bot, will also be on display for students at the picnic.

Bear Bus Shuttle kickoff

OU’s Bear Bus Shuttle Service will kick off its second year of operation on Sept. 2 at 11:30 near the North and South Foundation Halls.  The kick off includes trips to Meijer’s and Great Lakes Crossing mall, as well as downtown Rochester according to Lauren Baker, who works for University Housing.

The shuttle service, which consists of two vans, runs Friday evenings from 6 p.m. until 2:30 a.m., Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. and Sundays from 9 a.m. until midnight.

The two shuttle vans provide a continuous loop to retail and entertainment venues during operating hours. Stops include Busch’s Market, Whole Foods Market, Buffalo Wild Wings and the greater downtown area of Rochester.

During normal hours of operation, the shuttle will run a continuous loop that departs from Hamlin Circle every hour and half hour, also stopping at the University Student Apartments clubhouse.

For more information about the Bear Bus Shuttle Service, call 248-370-3570.

Student Organizations Fair

The annual GrizzFest Student Organizations Fair, hosted by the Center for Student Activities will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday September 2 near the Oakland Center. With more than 50 student organizations represented, the fair will be held outdoors this year, said CSA director, Jean Ann Miller.

The annual fair gives new students a chance to gather more than a handful of information about different groups on campus as well as to meet current members of the group and enjoy plenty of popcorn and give a ways.

The GreekFest Greek Organizations Fair will also take place near the CSA Student Organizations Fair at the same time, Miller said.

Veteran Services

Wednesday, Sept. 8, there will be a Veteran Services Welcome Reception from 5-6:30 p.m. The reception will take place in Fireside Lounge.

Over 200 invitations have been sent out to current and newly-enrolled student veterans, but the event is open to anyone who is interested.

In its second year, the reception is intended to give veterans a chance to meet the Veteran Services staff as well as one another.

“With the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts ongoing, enlistment in the armed forces is up, but retention is down. This, coupled with the Post-911 GI Bill that was launched last fall, has led to a huge rise in the number of veterans seeking higher education,” Veteran Services liaison Michael Brennan said. “OU has been making great strides to improve veteran-friendliness around campus, to be a more welcoming community for these students, and this reception is just a product of those efforts.”

The complete schedule of Welcome Week events can be found online at

www.oakland.edu/csa