Most who partook in '06 Sophomore Family Weekend lauded the event as a success.
However, over Family Weekend many visitors plunged into the atmosphere of Sophomore Summer that the Class of 2006 knows well, and chose to lounge around and attend social functions, rather than go to College-sponsored events.
While the Student Activities Office and the '06 Class Council worked together to plan activities to keep family members of all ages entertained throughout the weekend, most students had their own agendas for their families, thus opting not to take advantage of professor lectures, running clinics or the hypnotist show.
Yet Katherine Lawson, a sophomore co-coordinator said the weekend went very well, mentioning the student performance showcase Saturday night as a particularly well-attended event.
"It was such a short period of time. I wanted my parents to meet my friends rather than go to events that they were not interested in," Kate Hufft '06 said. "I wanted my parents to see the Dartmouth I love."
Sororities and fraternities arranged barbecues, brunches and pong tournaments to acquaint parents with Greek life at Dartmouth, as this was the first time that many families have been to campus since the '06 class rushed earlier in the year. These events were well attended.
Hufft took her parents to her sorority on Saturday night to show off the house and to explain the rules of pong, which they had heard a lot about. Her parents were looking forward to finally seeing where she spends time.
According to Stephanie Herbert '06, she and her friends planned special events to have parents mingle and meet one another. They held a wine and cheese party in Nathan's Garden on Saturday afternoon for about 20 different families.
"My parents probably regretted registering. They didn't participate in any activities except for a concert I sang in at the student showcase Saturday night, which they enjoyed," Herbert said.
Registration for Sophomore Family Weekend entailed a fee of $35 per person over the age of 13 and a fee of $15 for every attendee age 12 or under. With official registration came access to the events, name tags and a T-shirt for an additional cost.
"We didn't register. We didn't even think about it. We just came for the day," Halina Olszynski, mother of Patrycza Olszynski '06, said.
"We had a good weekend. We got to meet Patty's friends and their families. It was so much fun; I would do it every weekend."
Even many families who did attend College sponsored events felt that the highlight of the weekend was meeting their child's friends and their families.
The mother of Jordie Enright-Schulz '06 went to President James Wright's reception at the Hanover Inn, but according to Jordie, her mother had heard the President speak before and felt that he did not say anything new, although she enjoyed the opportunity to meet other parents at the reception.
Cynthia and Joe Gensheimer, parents of Lydia Gensheimer '06, however, made a point to participate in College-sponsored activities. They attended two faculty lectures, a breakfast for parents and the President's reception.
"I loved the lectures. They made me want to be a student again," Cynthia Gensheimer said, "but the nicest part of the weekend was getting to know Lydia's friends. We have a better picture of Lydia's experience."
"More variety in lectures would be great," added her husband, "though because it was summer, people don't feel obligated to be inside."
People may not have spent their days inside, but the local restaurants felt the influx of people in town.
"We were pretty much booked before the weekend. We had to turn away a lot of people unfortunately. It seemed mostly like parents with kids. We didn't have room for couples. There were parties of six or eight," Karine Kelleher, bar and floor manager at the Canoe Club, said.
Lou's waitress Amber Sharon reports that restaurant was busy from the time they opened the door until 20 minutes after closing time.
And there was nothing to worry about for students whose parents were unable to make it to Family Weekend. "I had a lot of surrogate parents," said Bryan Davis '06, of Missoula, Mont.
