JAE: 4,500 students, five teams and one day to celebrate

The 17th edition of the Student Welcome Day, organized by Face 06, brought together 4,500 students last week. From Albert 1st Garden to the Théâtre de Verdure stage, relive the unmissable event of the Côte d’Azur student return.

Shortly after two o’clock, Albert 1st Garden welcomed over a hundred students eager to participate in the activities of the Student Welcome Day (JAE), late last week. For this 17th edition, the Face 06 (Federation of Student Associations and Corporations of Alpes-Maritimes) once again thought big.

Students get into the game

For this JAE, 4,500 students from the Côte d’Azur proudly wore scarves and outfits in the colors of their respective campuses, forming five large teams. First-year students had their classes cancelled to be able to integrate into student life. As for the others, either they were lucky, or they escaped from classes for a few hours, like Yasmine, 19 years old, a second-year student in Data Science BUT at Sophia Antipolis.

In the center of the park, the Competition zone was commanding all the attention for the students’ greatest pleasure. Cheers and cries of surprise from the crowd, caused by balloons flying around the giant human foosball table. Just next to it, the sounds of inflatable plastics colliding made passersby laugh. The students who are admittedly of legal age decided that day to remain big children.

The atmosphere would not have been so thrilling without the participation of the mascots of the BDEs from each school. It was possible to see a parrot and a life-size penguin doing a ride on the mechanical bull. We attempted to interview one of them… in vain, it was impossible to convey their joy. What is certain is that the pleasure of participating in the event was present in everyone.

Informing without spoiling the party

The JAE also combined the party with benevolence. Further away, in the shade of the stands in the Chill-Zone, many associations were present for prevention. Cannelle, 17 years old, a first-year student in Dance, took the opportunity to test her blood sugar at the diabetes screening stand “because the opportunity never really comes up, even though it’s a disease that affects anyone at any age”, she clarifies.

Between workshops on sexual health and road safety prevention, exchanges develop naturally and students play along. Most of them even find “pleasure in university association engagement”, confides Simon, a volunteer for Face 06.

From six o’clock onwards, the crowd left the lawn and games to move to the Théâtre de Verdure. The coolness of the evening calmed each student, but did not diminish the enthusiasm for the concert that had been prepared for them. With DJ sets from Kolak, Pearce, YKOR, Willamë, as well as emerging talents like Hedi and Millie, everyone spent the evening dancing.

Between clinking glasses, joy intensified with the announcement of the yellow team’s victory (BDE Science Valrose and private schools) for the seventh consecutive time. One thing is certain, students cannot wait to return next year.