A definitive ranking of O-Week themes

By Hugo Gerbich-Pais     2/4/25 11:24pm

Rush season is upon us. For those of you who aren't friends with your college's coordinators, here is a ranked list of O-Week themes to help you start planning where to co-advise.

1. Duncan College: Lasso-Week – Welcome to the Roodeo 

Duncan College's O-Week coords gave us a masterclass in theme selection. This theme nods to Rice's Texan roots and also to Duncan’s mascot itself. It is also refreshingly original, ready to spark a number of Southern and desert-inspired puns. 

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2. Martel College: Techno-Week

Meowtel finally redeems themselves with this theme. The theme is fresh and inclusive. If the new students aren't rave-goers, they're probably engineers doing something tech-related. 

3. Sid Richardson College: Disney Studio Week – Where Your Dreams Come True 

Everyone loves Disney, and while it’s not quite as unique as Duncan or Martel's theme, Disney is popular for a reason. This theme also has a nearly infinite amount of pun and O-Week name ideas, which advisors will no doubt appreciate.

4. Jones College: UFO-Week 

With UFO-Week, they went the wrong direction. Jones doesn’t need to further alienate this campus. Alienation aside, this name is fitting considering how bizarre and out of body O-Week can feel.

5. Hanszen College: Once Upon An O-Week

Hanszen College's O-Week theme is a nod to fairy tales, and eschews the traditional O-Week theme formatting. Nevertheless, the theme still works, and because of the lack of a pun, the theme seems more sophisticated.

6. Will Rice College: A Long Time Ago Week – Hyperdrive Into New Adventures

Will Rice also went for a more prosaic approach with this Star Wars inspired theme. Even with the tagline, the theme doesn't feel very George Lucas. ‘A long time ago’ is just too universal a phrase. 

7. Baker College: Monopoly Go Week

This theme sounds awesome, until you realise that Monopoly Go is just the mobile app. It's worse when you consider that Pokemon Go week was also done recently. 

8. Brown College: Choco-Week – Brown is Sweet

Choco-Week just doesn't really work. Who shortens chocolate to choco? However, the reference to their college and color is clever. Take note, Wiess – Brown was able to include their tagline and still have a real theme.

9. Wiess College: Team Family Wiess

Wiess's insistence on always having the same theme would be endearing, if it didn't seem so disingenuous. If you have to keep on telling people that you're a family…maybe you aren't? 

10. Lovett College: Nabisco Week – Chip Happens

This theme is truly a head scratcher. Nabisco is an American snack manufacturer owned by Mondelez International. It seems odd to name your O-Week after a corporation that, I for one, had never even heard of.  One of their most famous products is the Oreo, so why didn't they just settle with Oreo Week? 

11. McMurtry College: Picasso-Week 

From the college that had to change their O-Week theme last year, McMurtry once again misses the mark with this theme. Pablo Picasso's legacy has been tarnished by his widely documented abusive and misogynistic practices. Is this someone we should center?

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