Evanston felt more like home for many students this weekend, as droves of family members came to visit during Northwestern’s annual Family Weekend.
The three-day event, planned by the Office of Student Affairs, was well received by students.
“I love it,” said Rachel DeShay, a Weinberg junior. “Students are happy to see their parents. It’s a little diversion.”
Some parents said visiting campus helped them understand NU better.
“I think it’s really important that we must see what the school is really like,” said David Rybin, who visited from Kent, Ohio.
In addition to spending time with their children, parents also could attend various functions, including information sessions about student life, meetings with school deans and a speech by University President Henry Bienen.
Bienen answered parents’ questions on topics ranging from changing the quarter system to hiring international professors after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Bienen’s speech impressed Edward Colton, who was visiting his son from Pasadena, Calif.
“I felt that he had a tremendous grasp of the relation between the economic and political environment that a school faces,” Colton said. “He has a good vision of how to run the school.”
But Communication freshman Lauren Rosen said Family Weekend was disorganized. Communication Dean Barbara O’Keefe never arrived to speak Friday afternoon, she said.
“They should organize lectures and actually organize when the parents arrive,” Rosen said. “(But) I think that the premise (for Family Weekend) is an overall good idea.”
Many parents also attended Saturday’s football game against Indiana University, as well as Best of the Midwest, an a cappella festival sponsored by Purple Haze.
Mario Jobbe, producer of BOTM and musical co-director of Purple Haze, said the show gives families an entertainment option during their visit.
“We specifically host (BOTM) on Family Weekend hoping that students bring their families, so they can see us and other groups from the Midwest,” said Jobbe, a Weinberg senior. “We always get a big crowd of parents.”
But some parents and students said they visited Chicago or downtown Evanston instead of attending on-campus activities. Some cited the lack of advertisement for on-campus events as a problem.
“Most everyone I talked to was going to downtown (Chicago) or Evanston, because no one knew about on-campus activities,” said Matt Leonard, a Weinberg freshman.
Even for students such as Steve Hasday, whose family did not visit, the weekend still proved to be enjoyable — with the help of others’ visiting parents.
“My roommate said, ‘Hey, my parents are wondering if you would like to come to dinner with us,'” said Hasday, a Weinberg sophomore. “It was really memorable for them to go out of their way to be nice.”
