Like many Syracuse University students, freshman Fern Langham is excited to see her parents this weekend.

‘I can’t wait to show off Syracuse,’ said Langham, a biomedical engineering major from Monticello. ‘I’m going to show them all the fun stuff there is to do.’

Langham plans to bring her parents to the pre-game pep rally Saturday morning on the Quad, then the Hillel tailgate party, and then attend An A Cappella Afternoon in Setnor Auditorium.

But she has an ulterior motive for her parents’ visit.

‘I need more water bottles, so I’ve got to restock,’ Langham said.

About 5,600 guests, mostly parents of freshmen and sophomores, will invade campus for this year’s Parents Weekend, which has sold out hotels for miles around. The weekend, scheduled nearly a month earlier than last year’s, includes more than 50 events spanning Friday, Saturday and through to Sunday afternoon.

‘Parents tell me we have one of the biggest itineraries,’ said Colleen O’Connor Bench, director of the Parent Office and coordinator of Parents Weekend. ‘They think we do it up pretty huge.’

Although all of these events will entertain parents and give them a taste of SU, the ultimate goal of Parents Weekend is to increase student retention, Bench said. Those students whose parents are involved in their lives, without invading their privacy, are always the most successful.

‘We have more fun than the students,’ laughed Ginny Dujardin of Merrick, mother of Justine Dujardin, a sophomore advertising design major.

Ginny Dujardin and her family visited SU each year Justine’s brother, a ’98 graduate, was a student, and plan to attend the game and enjoy dinner at various restaurants during this year’s stay.

Parents Weekend events always include a Saturday afternoon home football game, like this year’s against Rutgers at noon, which is usually well-attended.

Before, during and after the game, however, parents and their children can choose from a wide variety of events, ranging from panels, theatrical performances, special dining hall meals and religious services. The weekend’s itinerary remains fairly consistent from year to year, but the selected courses for ‘Take Your Parents To Class’ are in session from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday and the specific performances do change, Bench said.

One of the most anticipated events for the weekend, for both parents and students, is An A Cappella Afternoon at 1 p.m. Saturday in Setnor Auditorium, during the football game.

‘Not everyone is a fan of football events,’ Bench said.

The Mandarins, who will perform at the a cappella event along with Orange Appeal, have graced the stage during Parents Weekend for the past three years, said Carlyn Satkus, a senior philosophy major and Mandarins member.

‘It’s such an honor to be asked to take part in Parents Weekend, for publicity, our friends and parents,’ Satkus said. ‘And we always jump at opportunities to get on stage.’

The a cappella event also eliminates the need to hire outside performers to come to the university, but parents seem to prefer seeing students perform anyway, Bench said.

‘I’m a firm believer in showcasing our students’ talent, and I found that the parents really love that too,’ Bench said.

Parents also seem especially excited about meeting Chancellor Nancy Cantor from 4 to 5 p.m. Friday in the Panasci Lounge.

‘Parents are eating that up,’ Bench said.

Many upperclassmen expressed surprise at the early semester scheduling of the weekend. But the date is never set in stone, and depends on the Big East football schedule, Bench said. Once the weekend coordinators get the football schedule in February, they sit down and select the best weekend for the campus events.

‘It jumps all over the place,’ Bench said. ‘But we haven’t had it this early in quite a few years.’

This year’s date, a month after arriving on campus and nearly a month before Thanksgiving, seems like a logical time to see parents, Kelly said.

The university sends every parent a Parents Weekend information packet and registration form, both of which are also available online. To register, parents must pay a $35 fee.

Some parents complain about the registration fee, and say that they already pay enough tuition, Bench said. But the school does not make any profit from the added fee because all of the money goes toward the expenses of the weekend, including event refreshments, sound and light equipment, room rentals, additional campus shuttles and more, Bench said. If the Parent Office ever does see a profit, the money goes right back into the office for future events, Bench said.

‘We make sure (parents) understand it’s not a fundraising ploy,’ Bench said.

The fee also helps to make most of the weekend’s events free for guests, she said.

Last year about 6,000 parents registered for the weekend, 400 more than this year, Bench said. This decrease in number, and decrease in registration dollars, will affect the Parent Office budget. But none of the activities will be cut, or charges added.

But many parents who attend Parents Weekend events do not register, Bench said. And other parents may visit campus another weekend, to avoid the crowds and follow their own schedule.

‘(My parents) came last year and decided they’d come a different weekend when it wasn’t as busy,’ said Lauren DiFerdinando, a sophomore painting major.

Though local hotels sold out weeks ago, Bench said she remains in close contact to see if any cancellations or vacancies happen, and encourages parents who are in need of accommodations to contact her before they arrive.

But not all students’ parents will be visiting this weekend. Louie Omiatek, a sophomore international relations major, prefers that his parents stay home.

Said Omiatek: ‘It’s difficult to entertain your parents for so long.’

Published on September 30, 2004 at 12:00 pm