Every year, at the conclusion of the first month of classes, students have the opportunity to share St. Bonaventure with their families in many exciting ways during Family Weekend. The days are filled with all kinds of activities to participate in for families to experience the multitude of aspects that the SBU community has to offer. Today through Sunday, the campus will be alive with everything that makes St. Bonaventure home for students.
Each year, the campus-wide celebration has several staple events for the purpose of bringing the community together. Each year is special and unique. In order to plan all of the events that make Family Weekend so exciting, cooperation from several different areas of the campus and surrounding community is necessary.
Each day offers special ways to interact with different groups and departments on campus. For instance, students and their families will be able to see SBU’s sports teams play a series of important home games.
Another special aspect of the weekend will involve recognition of academic success with the national honor society, Phi Eta Sigma. Inductions as well as a reception for the first-year students will headline festivities for those involved. The ROTC program will also be holding its fall awards ceremony, showcasing the students who have excelled in the program.
One of the main draws of the weekend, which occurs on Saturday between the Richter Center and the Reilly Center, is the Family Weekend Festival. This celebration brings a culmination of campus and community groups. Clubs and organizations will be set up at tables promoting their causes and selling merchandise, like shirts or water bottles.
In addition to on-campus groups, there will be local vendors and musicians coming together to show the support the surrounding community offers the campus.
In addition to the outdoor festivities, the Campus Activities Board has planned indoor activities for families to enjoy. The events that have been organized were chosen based on popularity from past years. For example, Friday night will give families the chance to show off their knowledge at Trivia Night. Saturday night will bring lots of laughter and wonder with a hypnotist show by Wayne Hoffmann in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.
Something new that has been in the works is a collaboration between CAB, SBU Step and the Latin American Student Organization. These clubs are hoping to put together a Field Day with music and several other activities, including three-legged races, a water balloon toss, lawn games and potato sack races.
“The goal is that this will be an annual event and become a tradition. Some of the details are still being worked out, but we think this could be a successful event!” said Erin McNell, CAB vice president and senior biochemistry major.
The number of activities that show off every aspect of the SBU community is a testament to the multifaceted influence on the students, and Family Weekend is the perfect opportunity for families to get a glimpse of it.
Mary Frac, assistant director of the Center for Activities, Recreation and Leadership, said, “A weekend such as this would not be able to go on if it were not for the incredible amount of support given.”
By Faith Topolski , Staff Writer
topolsfl17@bonaventure.edu
