Parents of the Class of 1998 paddled the Connecticut, walked the campus, attended faculty lectures, sat in on foreign language drills and toured Baker Tower over the course of the three-day 1998 Family weekend, held Friday through Sunday.
"The weekend was fantastic," 1998 Class President Randi Barnes '98 said. "Parents that I spoke to said overall the weekend was enjoyable."
1998 Class Dean Lisa Thum echoed Barnes.
"I thought it went really well," she said.
The most popular pastimes for visiting families took place outdoors, Barnes said, with organized walks, runs, and canoeing trips attracting the most visitors.
"Outdoor events were enjoyable and thankfully we had good weather," Barnes said.
"Canoes were rented, people attended the pancake paddle, and the early morning walk and run and swim were well attended," she said.
Abigail Augusta '98 said that her parents particularly enjoyed renting a canoe at Ledyard Canoe Club and paddling on the Connecticut River.
The traditional Saturday morning address to parents was also well-attended, Barnes said.
Director of Career Services Skip Sturman delivered this year's address to parents, which focused on whether the benefits of a Dartmouth education are worth the steep tuition.
"I thought it went well," Thum said. "Parents are oftentimes concerned about financing education."
Because their children are now sophomores and halfway through College, parents wonder where they are headed, Thum said.
"Parents are quite interested in the employment outlook and grad schools," she said. Sturman "was a good selection to make. We talked about careers, employment and grad schools and futures."
Thum said she did not give this year's address not only because Sturman's message is relevant to parents, but also because she is pregnant.
"I have three weeks before my baby is due," she said. "I think that was a major concern of [Director of Student Activities] Linda Kennedy. But I thought having Skip talk was a good idea anyhow."
Other successful activities included the speakers and faculty lectures as well as the class barbecue at the Bema, Barnes said.
"I think the barbecue was a big success," she said.
"The '98 class barbecue at the Bema was fun although the tables weren't set up," Augusta said. "The food was good, though."
Foreign language drill was held Saturday morning, introducing many parents to the cornerstone of foreign language instruction at the College.
"Some parents couldn't believe that [students] were that peppy that early in the morning," Barnes said.
Parents became students for the session, while regular drill instructors practiced their finger-snapping skills for the event.
The 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning starting time "was pretty early, but it was fine," drill instructor Janelle Garrett '98 said. "Parents were very interested in the Rassias method and responded to it well."
While some parents were more enthusiastic than their sons and daughters, others were "scared to answer at first", Garrett said.
"They said 'I don't know any Spanish,' but soon realized they could not only mimic the sounds but also understand through the acting out and get an idea of what they were saying," Garrett said.
Garrett commended students who awoke at the early hour to attend drill with their parents.
"It is more fun to go with your parents and watch them go through drill," she said. "Most were not there with their kids, however, because it was at 8 a.m."
After the mock drill session, parents asked questions regarding languages at Dartmouth, the Rassias method and the Language Study Abroad Program, Garrett said.
"It worked out fine," she said. "It was neat to show them what it was like."
"Hopefully the parents learned a language within that half hour," Barnes said.
A fair number of people attended Saturday night's Saloon Night-themed party at Webster Hall, which included card games and gambling with fake money.
A performance by the Sheba dance troupe enhanced that night at Webster Hall, member Karin Lewis '98 said.
"It went well," she said. "There were more people there because most of the Sheba people invited guests to see [the performance.]"
Some parents did not find the weekend very entertaining though.
Jonathan Lee '98 said his parents thought the weekend was boring.
"My parents originally planned on staying two days," he said.
"They came on Friday and planned on leaving [Sunday] morning but left Saturday."
"I guess they really did not think any of the activities planned were interesting," Lee said.
"We did not do anything the school planned."
Instead, Lee said he went shopping and dining with his family. He thought the daytime activities were fine, although he did not attend them, but said there was a lack of exciting evening events.
"We were bored at night," he said.
