Family and Halloween weekends will share the days between Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 this semester, with a variety of scheduled activities including a Lehigh football game versus Georgetown University, a tailgate party, college presentations and more.
The Office of University Events began working on the overall schedule this past summer, however, family weekend is a joint effort between many offices and organizations on campus such as Career Services, Student Affairs and Study Abroad, among others.
Illustration by Liz Cornell
According to Janet Norwood, the senior director of advancement communications, the dates of family weekend are chosen with much consideration.
“Family Weekend is held in October, so it is not too close to the start of the year or too late in the semester for a visit,” Norwood said. “It is usually planned for a weekend with a home football game, which means there are limited dates from which to choose. The timing isn’t unusual. Family Weekend has actually coincided with Halloween many times in the past.”
Despite the overall between Halloween and Family Weekend, students remain confident that it will not greatly impact their social life.
“When it’s Parent’s Weekend, students tend to go to the football game with their family and skip tailgates,” said Mikaila Skaroff, ’17. “The fact that Parent’s Weekend is on Halloween is a bit unfortunate, because Halloween is a time when students like to celebrate. But I don’t think Parent’s Weekend will affect social life too much.”
Family Weekend is designed to give students and their families a chance to reconnect through various entertainment activities. In terms of athletic events other than the Lehigh football game, there will be a swimming and diving meet, Lehigh volleyball and men’s soccer versus Bucknell University.
University Productions is sponsoring two family movie nights featuring “The Ant Man” in Whitaker Lab. Various religious groups on campus including the Hillel Society and Catholic Student Center are holding events to welcome Lehigh visitors. According to Office of University Events, there will probably be a hint of sesquicentennial flavor to the weekend since Lehigh is celebrating its 150th birthday this year.
This year’s Family Weekend will mark President John Simon’s first at Lehigh.
“I am looking forward to Family Weekend,” Simon wrote in an email. “I plan to be at many of the events that weekend and I look forward to meeting our Lehigh families, talking with the Parent’s Council, and watching the Lehigh versus Georgetown football game.
“I also look forward to being one of those Lehigh families, enjoying the university through the eyes and experiences of my freshman son.”
Besides enjoying a weekend-long celebration with their children, Lehigh parents have many opportunities to experience Lehigh’s education first hand and connect and with school faculty.
On Friday, Oct. 30, parents can register to participate in open classrooms where they have a chance to sit in the classroom with students and professors.
On Saturday, Oct. 31, Cameron Wesson, associate dean of College of Arts and Science; Katrina Zalatan, associate dean of college of Business and Economics; and Gregory Tonkay, associate dean of P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science will host each college’s open house on various locations on campus. Parents will have the chance to view each college’s core curriculum and attend a question and answer session about students’ academic experience at Lehigh.
“My family and I have been to Lehigh many times before to visit my sister who also attended Lehigh,” said Kaylee Duggan, ’19, a student excited for her first Family Weekend as a student. “We love it here. My parents are still excited to have their first Parent’s Weekend with me and it’s pretty special for me too.
“We plan to go to the football game and to tailgate. I’m excited to show my family Lehigh’s spirit and allow them to really get a taste of our school.”
Most of the events on Family Weekend will be free of charge. A detailed schedule of the weekend can be reviewed at www.lehigh.edu/familyweekend. Some events require registration, which is open until Oct. 16. According to Norwood, there are already 500 registrations for all the events.
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