Veritas Weekend is The Veritas Forum’s flagship student conference. It gathers the students for a time of encouragement and equipping. During the conference, students interact with Christian scholars, writers, and artists, and share experiences with peers from other campuses.

Veritas Weekend has two tracks: The Augustine Collective Conference track for students who are part of an AC journal and the Forums Leadership track for students who plan and execute Veritas Forum events on their campus.

For AC students, the experience of Veritas Weekend will be almost identical to the experience of attending the Augustine Collective Conference in the past.

To meet, think, discuss, and pray with your fellow Veritas students from across the country? To hear from and interact with fantastic speakers? To strategize with your teams for the future? To acquire or refine the skills necessary to help build a thriving publication? To renew your vision for the work you’re doing? Pick your reason! Whatever brings you to the conference, we’re thrilled to see you.

Want to learn more? Check out this promo video from a previous AC conference.

The full schedule is still to come, but you can see the current schedule above. It will conclude by noon on Sunday the 5th. The weekend will consist of a mix of plenary sessions, breakout sessions, worship, time to connect as a team, and time for fellowship with students from publications across the country.

Speakers this year include: Lori Branch, Ruth Okediji, Makoto Fujimura, Haejin Shim Fujimura, James K.A. Smith, Lydia Dugdale, Satyan Devadoss, and Andy Crouch, with more to be announced. The theme is “Loving the University: Engaging the Big Questions of Your Campus."

The Boston Park Plaza Hotel (50 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116) will host this year’s conference. This 4-star hotel, located near the historic Boston Common, was recently renovated and features great meeting spaces for this growing event.

There is no fee to attend, and all meals provided on site are free (dinner on Friday night is not provided). Lodging at the Boston Park Plaza is also covered. The cost to you of your travel will depend upon the following:

-If your and your school submit a reimbursement form before the travel receipts deadline (December 5th, 2022 by 11:59 pm EST), then you will receive reimbursement for ½ the cost of your primary method of travel (up to a maximum total reimbursement of $200 per person).
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-If you do not submit your reimbursements by the travel receipt deadline (December 5th, 2022), then you will be responsible for the full cost of your own travel.

-If you submit a Full Scholarship and are accepted, the full cost of your primary method of travel will be covered (see below for more information on the full scholarship process).

Meals en route or any meals, snacks, coffee, etcprovided as part of the official schedule will not be covered. This includes dinner on Friday night. Any souvenirs or other incidental costs you incur in Boston will not be covered.

-Monday, October 17th, 2022: Registration Opens
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-Monday, November 28, 2022 11:59 pm EST: Registration Closes
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-Wednesday, November 30th, 2022 11:59 pm EST: Final Admissions off Waitlist Issued
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-Monday, December 5, 2022 11:59 pm EST: Travel Receipts for Student Purchased Travel Due
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-Friday, February 3, 2023 Conference Begins

Registration this year is on a first come, first serve basis. We have 200 spots for Augustine Collective students. Students who register in excess of 200 will be placed on our waitlist in case of cancellations or other circumstances. In addition, there will be a cap of 12 people per school in our registration period. Anyone who registers from a school that already has 12 people registered to attend will be put on the waitlist as well, even if you are one of the first 200 people to register overall.

We will admit additional students over a school’s 12 person cap after the close of registration based on when they registered on a first come, first serve basis(e.g. if we are able to admit people off the waitlist after close of registration and the first person on the waitlist is someone from a school which already has 12 students registered, we will still admit that person first). Before the close of registration, however, we will take a school’s cap into account if we have already reached 200 and are admitting someone off the waitlist to fill a canceled spot.

Once you register, we will contact you to confirm whether you have secured a spot or to inform you that you have been placed on the waitlist. Even if you are aware you will be put on the waitlist, we encourage you to register anyway as we expect to be able to admit at least some people off the waitlist.

-You can register for the conference here

-Registration closes on Monday, November 28th at 11:59 pm EST.

Our general expectation is that student attendees stay for the entire duration of the weekendfr, arriving between 4p.m. and 6p.m. on Friday, February 3rd and departing after 11a.m. on Sunday, February 5th. If you have any concerns about staying for the whole weekend, please do let us know at augustine@veritas.org and we can discuss it with you further.

Before the close of the registration (Monday, November 28th at 11:59 PM Eastern) you may cancel your registration at any time by emailing augustine@veritas.org. If you cancel, your spot will be filled on a first come, first serve basis (including off the waitlist if we already have 200 people registered). However, our expectation is that anyone still registered by the deadline Nov. 28th plans to attend the conference; we will admit people for any available spots off the waitlist by Wednesday the 30th and acceptance of the spot at that time is also a firm commitment to attend.

Moreover, when you submit your travel for reimbursement (no later than Monday. Dec. 5th) we consider it a firm commitment that you will attend and we would strongly ask that you not cancel after that time unless for a genuine emergency.

Please note that if you do cancel for any non-emergency reasons after purchasing your travel, we will not reimburse you for any travel you purchased and will ask you to return any money received for your travel reimbursement. Of course, if a true emergency arises, such as a medical or family situation, you should cancel and we will still reimburse your travel. Please email us at augustine@veritas.org if this situation applies to you.

Your team should all take the same transportation method if at all possible. In general, we would like schools to prioritize travel options in the following order:

1. Driving personal cars or school-sponsored cars (we will reimburse gas and parking costs by receipt after the event)
2. Bus (unless timing isn’t feasible given conference events)
3. Rental Cars (unless there aren’t enough drivers in the group or a train is less expensive)
4. Train (unless planes are less expensive)
5. Plane (reserved for schools that are too far for other forms of transport)

We are asking teams to book the most affordable option available to them, but this will be on “the honor system”—we do not need to confirm the option before you purchase any tickets.
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If you need to come to the conference from a location other than your school, please contact us at augustine@veritas.org in order to confirm that this is possible.  We reserve the right to exercise discretion, particularly if coming from your preferred location is more expensive than coming from your school.

Tip: Determine whether your college or university offers any funding to students for traveling to conferences or events. If you will be driving, please also determine whether your college or university allows students to rent or borrow vehicles at low or zero cost. Please look into all policies regarding such vehicles (for example, whether it can be kept off campus overnight).

Tip: Determine whether there are any other local means of funding (for example, through a church or campus ministry) that could go towards off-setting the cost of the travel. If you will be driving, determine whether there are friends, churches, or campus ministries that you could rent or borrow vehicles from at low or zero cost.

If you and your school submit receipts before the deadline of Dec. 5th at 11:59 pm EST, we will reimburse you for up to half the cost of your travel at a maximum of $200 per person. For example:
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-If your flight/train/bus is $150, you will receive a reimbursement of $75
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-If your flight/train/bus is $200, the reimbursement will be $100

-If your flight/train/bus is $400, you will receive a $200 reimbursement

-If the cost is greater than $400, you will still only receive the maximum reimbursement of $200

Please note that policy only applies to students who are coming from their school. Please contact us if you require transportation from an alternative location.

If you submit a Full Scholarship application and are accepted, the full cost of your primary method of travel will be covered (see below for more information on the full scholarship process).

Please note: We will not cover the following non-primary forms of transportation for all students (including those students that receive a full scholarship):

-Ground transportation (e.g., rideshare) to or from your school to an airport, train station, or bus station

-Ground transportation (e.g., rideshare) to or from the Boston Park Plaza to an airport, train station, or bus station

Tip: If you are flying or taking a train or bus into the Boston airport, please plan accordingly. The T (subway) in Boston will be much cheaper than a taxi/Uber/Lyft. The Silver Line from the airport to South Station is free; for more details see here and note that it seems the reverse trip from South Station to the Boston airport upon departure is not free.

Given the number of students in attendance, we are looking to streamline the reimbursement process by working with one point of contact per school. Please work through your EiCs to arrange and book travel. The steps of the process are:
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1. Students register for the conference (by November 28th).

2. The point person will then confirm the travel method and cost with students from their school.

3. AC Conference attendees will pay the point person from their school.

4. Point person will purchase travel for the whole group (this should wait until after Wednesday, Nov. 30th if you are expecting someone from your school may be admitted off the waitlist).

5. Point person will submit one reimbursement form for the group (by December 5th).

6. The Augustine Collective reimburses the point person for half of the total travel.

7. The point person reimburses each individual member for half the cost of their travel from the funds received from the Augustine Collective team.

If you are driving and we are reimbursing you for gas and parking, those receipts do not need to be submitted by December 5th. They can be submitted after the weekend for ½ reimbursement (up to $200 per person). Those who are driving should plan to park their vehicles in the Boston Common Parking Garage (clearance of 6'3").

This process should not require that any individual front the cost of multiple tickets as it asks student members to send the point person the cost of their ticket before that point person purchases the batch.

However, we understand that your point person may not wish to be in charge of purchasing travel for the group. If this is the case, we encourage you to ask if anyone else in your publication is willing to take on this role.

If no one in the group is willing to be the point person in terms of purchasing, we ask that one person remain our point of contact but we will work with your school to arrange for individual reimbursement. Please email augustine@veritas.org if this is the case for your school.

Please note that though the first method outlined above is our ideal process, we understand it may not work for everyone and we are certainly willing to be flexible. Fundamentally, we want to make sure that we are serving you and your team in your preparation for the conference, so you can always feel free to be in touch with us if different arrangements need to be made.

We want to ensure as best we can that finances are not a barrier to your attendance at the 2023 Veritas Weekend. Apply for a travel scholarship to have the full cost of your primary form of transport to the conference in Boston reimbursed. You should apply for a full scholarship at the time when you register for the conference. Remember that registration this year is on a first come, first serve basis.

You can apply for a full travel scholarship here.

We will review scholarship applications on a rolling basis as they come in alongside registrations. If we do not grant you a full scholarship and you are no longer able to attend as a result, we will cancel your registration on our end and that spot will be open again. If you are put on the waitlist at registration, you still still make sure to apply for a full scholarship at the time of registration. We will evaluate your application for a full scholarship if you are admitted off the waitlist, no later than Nov. 30th.

As we have a limited number of scholarships available, please be aware that this scholarship is meant for students who truly could not attend the AC conference without full financial support. Thank you for understanding.

If you’ve received a scholarship, please do not book your own travel. Veritas will be booking for you and will email you to confirm the details of your itinerary.

The Boston Park Plaza Hotel will host this year’s conference. This 4-star hotel, located near the historic Boston Common, was recently renovated and features great meeting spaces for this growing event.

The Park Plaza is a close walk from a few different T stops.

Park Plaza Hotel Address: 50 Park Plaza, Boston, MA 02116

Lodging will be in the The Boston Park Plaza Hotel. More information to come.

The dress code is smart casual (and warm). You should bring any toiletries you would normally bring for a hotel stay. You may also wish to bring a water bottle, a notebook, a Bible or other devotional items, and any other items you’d want for a program of this kind. The event may involve walking outside, so be sure to bring shoes that are comfortable to walk in outside. As a team, your journal should bring copies of your journal's latest issue (and optionally, back issues too!) to trade with other campuses—ideally at least 50 copies.

Yes. Conference registration will include a place to note this information.

Currently no COVID regulations are planned, but we will update you if that changes.

The full schedule is still to come, but you can see the current schedule above. It will conclude by noon on Sunday the 5th. The weekend will consist of a mix of plenary sessions, breakout sessions, worship, time to connect as a team, and time for fellowship with students from publications across the country.
‍
Speakers this year include: Lori Branch, Ruth Okediji, Makoto Fujimura, Haejin Shim Fujimura, James K.A. Smith, Satyan Devadoss, and Andy Crouch, with more to be announced. The theme is “Loving the University: Engaging the Big Questions of Your Campus"

We plan to accommodate this and will provide more details closer to the event.

With any questions, please email the Augustine Collective Conference team at augustine@veritas.org.