Bringing Biological Sciences students together, ASUCI and the BSC collaborated to welcome back the 2nd annual Bio Week.
In an attempt to foster a sense of unity and pride within the school of Biological Sciences (BioSci) at UC Irvine, the Bio Sci Student Council partnered with the Legislative Council Biological Sciences Representatives to bring the second annual “Bio Week” to UC Irvine last week, May 6-10.
“The BioSci Student Council has been very grateful to be able to partner with the Biological Sciences Representatives for Bio Week,” Vice President of Public Affairs for the Biological Sciences Student Council (BSC), Newsha Dowlaty, said. “What we wanted to accomplish with Bio Week was to bring biological sciences students closer together and to create a feeling of camaraderie within the school of biological sciences through our activities.”
The five days of events focused on bringing students, faculty and professors together through events and contests intended on providing students with helpful information in an informal setting.
“We wanted to provide students with resources and insight into life after UCI, which is why we had our panels and we wanted to create a space where students could interact with professors in a setting outside the classroom,” Dowlaty said.
Students were asked to participate in workshops, roundtables, social events and giveaways all week long, hearing from professors, past colleagues and volunteer organizations about what awaits graduating Bio Sci majors in the future.
Collaborating heavily with ASUCI to bring the event to fruition for a second year in a row, the Bio Sci Student Council worked with Biological Sciences Representatives this past year in determining how the week would be structured and what events would take place.
“The Biological Sciences Representatives have always felt that although Biological Sciences majors are a large percentage of the school’s population, they aren’t adequately represented in ASUCI,” Vice President of Student Affairs for BSC and Biological Sciences Representative, Kleshie Baisie, said. “Planning, and actively participating in this event allowed us to gain more visibility amongst our peers, and allowed us to really have fun with our constituents. In addition, as Biological Sciences majors, we understand large scale structural and cultural change that Bio Week is hoping to eventually enact, can only occur with partnerships, such as the one made with the BSC.”
Student participation during the week was critical, although only a fraction of the biological sciences community elected to participate in the individual events. Students were able to share stories of their own struggles, seek advice and let their voices be heard in the bio sci community as they elected the student-awarded title for “Best Professor” to Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Peter Bowler.
“I really hope that Biological Sciences Week can grow,” Baisie said. “Having been one of the founders of the Biological Sciences Week, I hope that this remains an integral part of the Biological Sciences, and that this continues for many years to come. In addition, I hope to increase the amount of partnerships we have in the future in order to increase school-wide involvement.”
