UMKC celebrated its new students with an outdoor concert and movie on Sept. 12 at the Durwood Soccer Stadium. 

  The free event provided music by The Kansas City Symphony’s Mobile Music Box. Students listened to a number of famous melodies from “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” to Frank Sinatra’s “I Love You Baby.”

  First Semester Experience, a course which encourages students to interact with one another by attending on-campus events, created the music and movie night.  

“FSE is an engagement course,” Brianna Portmann said, she is the FSE engagement experience coordinator. “There’s something happening every week for the students and it works toward giving them credit once they attend and engage.” 

 Portmann said the goal of the mandatory course is to introduce students to UMKC facilities, resources and connections.

  “I want them to feel connected to the university as well as classmates; and hope that they have a sense of belonging on campus through these events,” Portmann said.

  Senior Jawaher Alsaffar said she attended the event to unwind after a long day of studying.

  “I like when I see things like this around campus,” Aslaffar said. “As a civil engineering student, I have rough days and really tough classes so this helps me relax.”

  As FSE and the UMKC Peer Academic Leadership Program served guests popcorn and other treats, visitors watched the screening of Marvel’s Black Panther.

  Before and after the film, the viewers reflected on how the movie applied to their daily lives and the people around them.

  “The symphony was cute, I [was] excited about the movie,” freshman Garrett Allnutt said. “I’m new here so these events let me meet a lot of cool people, it’s a great way to get involved.” 

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