The activities in welcoming the new students were made to complement the Baccalaureate Mass and send-off rites to the graduates at end of the school year.
It is a popular superstition that undergraduates should not pass through the arch the opposite way before the send-off rites because it could result in an untimely exit from the university.
In the early years, the parade passed through the Benavides Plaza and ended in front of the Main Building where a mass and welcoming events were held.
The parade moved straight to Rizal Lane, past the statue of Miguel de Benavides, and through to the Plaza Mayor.
The first batch was held in the morning and it was participated by students from the Arts and Letters, Engineering, Commerce and Business Administration, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Science, Music, and Education High School.