Wellesley welcomes family and friends of students

From Sept. 28 through Sept. 30, Wellesley students welcomed guests to campus in honor of Family and Friends Weekend and Homecoming. Braving the rain and wind, guests spent the weekend attending classes, meeting friends and participating in various special lectures and events.

Parents registered in the Wang Campus Center upon arrival and were then able to attend a full day of classes with their respective students.

Throughout the day, guests had the opportunity to tour the campus, including the Galen Stone Tower, the Greenhouse, the Chapel and the Multifaith Center. The College also hosted the Actors from the London Stage performance of “The Merchant of Venice” in Alumnae Hall.

“Saturday night, we went out to eat and then saw Merchant of Venice, which was an impressive stage production!,” Anne Dickinson Meltz ’16 said, regarding the inclusion of the Shakespeare production in Family and Friends Weekend. “[It was] a really nice way to end the weekend.”

For many parents of first-year students, this was their first time seeing their daughters since they began college.

“My parents came up to visit mainly because they wanted to come and see me in my element, now that I’ve settled in,” Rebecca Schwarz ’16 said. “They also aren’t so familiar with the school and the town of Wellesley, so they were happy to come and explore.”

Megan Jordan, associate director of Student Involvement, explained that the College attempts to demonstrate many aspects of student life to guests during Family and Friends Weekend.

“We hope to showcase our students through some academic programming, art programs and athletics events and we hope to showcase to the parents our wonderful faculty,” Jordan said.

Parents who took part in Family and Friends Weekend were able to watch Wellesley faculty in action this year. The Parent’s College, a new addition to the weekend, gave parents the opportunity to attend classes specifically designed for them by Wellesley College professors.

Parents attended lectures led by six former Pinanski Prize winners, Steve Marini, Thomas Hodge, Emily Bucholz, Margaret Keane, Alex Diesl and Koichi Hagimoto, in Pendleton Hall. Jordan explained that the event was well-received by the parents.

“Personally, I was excited to see how the Parent’s College went since this was the first year for hosting this event,” she added.

Schwarz expressed enthusiasm about the program as well.

“My parents did attend the parent class about religion and the 2012 election, which they really enjoyed,” Schwarz ’said.  “My dad said that he wished he could come up and take classes more often.”

Despite positive reviews from parents and students regarding the events of Family and Friends Weekend, many students were upset that dining services were affected by the festivities. On Saturday, dining halls closed by 10 a.m., when students usually have access to weekend brunch. Instead, students and their guests were encouraged to eat in the Field House of the Keohane Sport Center, where the President’s Luncheon was held.

One anonymous junior claimed that the absence of available food in dining halls was a major inconvenience to students.

“I didn’t have time to go off campus or go to the Keohane Sport Center because I had a call time for my concert, so I had to perform on an empty stomach. After this, I thought the dining hall opened at four, so I stumbled over to Bates, but they were still closed,” she explained. “When I finally got in, they had covered the food with plastic, so I couldn’t even eat any of it.”

Although the weekend’s meal plan continues to be a source of conversation on campus, the many athletic events, lectures and special events of Family and Friends Weekend and Homecoming were well-received by guests to the College campus.