This past weekend was not your stereotypical college weekend: it was family weekend. Local hotels and student’s dorms filled with their loved ones. This crowded college led to a fun-filled weekend of a different kind.
The family picnic kicked off Saturday’s festivities. Tickets were $15 for adults, $10 for children, and free for West Chester University students with an ID. Students and their families gathered near the grassy area by the Swope parking garage. There were several West Chester affiliated booths set up giving away free items and information, such as the Health and Wellness Center, the Parents’ Fund, and the Career Development Center. There were also tie dye t-shirts for sale promoting family weekend.
There were several different types of food available at the event, including burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, nachos, cotton candy, soft pretzels, popcorn, and Wawa drinks. No one left this event hungry!
During the event, performances from the dance team, the cheerleaders, and acapella groups entertained the audience. The High Street Hamonoix, an all-male acapella group and the Gracenotes, an all female acapaella group, performed several songs each.
A large stereo system played music to lighten the mood on such a hot day.
When students arrived at the picnic, they were reminded to enter the giveaway raffle. There were several drawings for scholarships, bookstore gift cards, and gift baskets. At 1 p.m., President Weisenstein pulled the winning tickets.
One basket was a “spirit basket” containing different items from the book store. There was also a $250 bookstore gift card. Two lucky students were awarded $500 scholarships. The prizes were all generously donated by the Parents’ Fund.
The event was an overall success, however, if the event happens next year, parents and students should remember to bring blankets or chairs to sit on due to limited seating. Many families ended up sitting over in the shaded wet grass to escape the heat. With temperatures reaching up to 81 degrees, it was not a typical fall day.
The final event of the weekend was the football game against Millersville. Instead of everyone sporting the typical purple and gold school colors, West Chester decided to have a “Pink Out.” Shirts were for sale at the game and the profits went to support breast cancer research.
The stadiums were packed with a sea of pink. Fans went wild after touchdown and touchdown, until finally, the Rams won with a final score of 62 to 7.
The Marching band performed not once, but twice at the football game. Their Japanese-inspired show was both exciting and beautiful to watch. Everyone will surely remember the giant cherry blossoms featured at the beginning of the show. Kudos to the marching band for an amazing performance.
The weekend was an overall success. Families and their college students were finally reunited for a fun-filled weekend. I’m sure many parents were nostalgic after experiencing a college weekend once again. But for now, the college campus will return back to its normal state until it is time for fall break.
Abby Goss is a first-year student majoring in English. She can be reached at AG826189@wcupa.edu.