All returning students will be invited to Six Flags Great America at the conclusion of Wildcat Welcome Week next fall, said Elizabeth Daly, director of orientation and parent programs.
“We’ve been talking a lot about wanting to host an event for the entire Northwestern community,” she said.
The event will take place Sept. 18, the Saturday before Fall Quarter begins. It was planned to include all students to foster community, Daly said.
Unlike freshmen, returning students will have to pay a to-be-determined amount, between $20 and $30, for transportation and a ticket due to the increase in transportation costs for the event. All students will need a WildCARD to attend and new students will load in separate areas to ensure all returning students have a ticket.
NU students will have the park to themselves, and all of the major attractions will be open with the exception of the water park and child areas, Daly said.
The park, in Gurnee, Ill., features several roller coasters, a vertical drop and other attractions, according to its website.
The event will occur rain or shine, Daly said.
“Last year it was pouring rain,” she said. “Everyone I spoke to who went said it was a great time.”
Lindsay Abbassian, a member of the Wildcat Welcome Board of Directors, said the event’s goal was to help unify freshmen and the NU community as a whole.
“Hopefully this will be a common bond,” the Medill sophomore said. “The freshmen I know all really enjoyed it. We’re hoping by opening it up to the entire community, we’ll bring people together.”
The “celebratory event” will welcome all NU students to school, Daly said.
“We focus so much on incoming students that we lose sight of the overall Northwestern community,” she said. “We want the returning students to feel like Northwestern loves you too.”
