Family Weekend sets record

By Emily Chambers

Senior Staff Writer

This year's Family Weekend welcomed a record high of over 2,400 parents and family members to campus. The alumni association hosted the two-day long event, which included seminars, tailgating, Greek house tours, a Marching Band concert and events put on by various schools and organizations across campus. 652 separate families attended this weekend, setting yet another record high for the Alumni Association.

"We did a different marketing campaign...and we tied it all into Welcome Home Month, so we actually had an increase in attendance that we are obviously excited about," said Amy Lancaster, Parents Program manager.

Throughout Friday, family members could attend various free seminars on Tech life. Seminars included discussions on graduate studies, career services, a football preview presented by Jacket sports announcer Wes Durham and a birthday party for George P. Burdell's entrance into the octogenarians' club.

In addition to the family members in attendance this weekend, the alumni association invited 242 high school students to visit campus this weekend. One of the seminars was focused on the Tech application process, and prospective students, who were for the most part legacies here at Tech, were given the opportunity to tour campus in depth.

Friday afternoon parents were encouraged to attend the receptions held by many of the colleges and schools.

"We recommend that the schools do this every single year, but we don't help with the programming. Each school comes up with its own, and a lot of the schools really go above and beyond, such as the school of Architecture which does its own marketing and really garners great attendance every year," Lancaster said.

Colleges held Q&A sessions, demonstrations, student displays and drop-in receptions to entertain parents and give them the opportunity to meet some of their children's professors, TAs and older students within their field.

Saturday began with campus tours for both the parents and the prospective students. The weekend continued into the evening with the traditional Family Weekend tailgate.

"The tailgate and the football block always sell out, and they sold out pretty quickly. We had a live band, Bullet Proof, there the whole time, and Infinite Harmony, the a cappella group, came and sang, which parents always love, plus food and Buzz were there," Lancaster said.

Parents who were unable to buy tickets through the Alumni Association's block were referred to the Athletic Association.

"Actually, we even had some people on our staff who ended up not attending the game, and we were selling those tickets to people who stopped by the tailgate and wanted them. We were really trying to get everyone into the game that we could."

While the ultimate conclusion of the weekend in a loss to Boston College was less than thrilling, the weekend was a huge success.

"I had a family from Miami come up to me who had come up because of their son, and they ran into people they hadn't seen in 20 years. That was really great, because that's why we put on alumni and family events like this, to connect people back to campus. We were really so happy to pull off this huge event," Lancaster said.