Week 7
It’s the halfway point readers!
Just think seven weeks ago we were all just arriving on campus and now we’re already half way done. I don’t know about you, but this semester is flying by if you ask me. With midterms finally finished (for the most part) and the mass confusion from LipSync over and done with we come to Family Weekend. Every freshman here on campus gets homesick at one point or another but they’re not always able to get home on the weekends like some people are, and this is why we have Family Weekend. This past weekend families came to visit campus and get a glance into life here at UConn. When I was a freshman my family had never really been to the campus other than to drop off my belongings and I to campus. They had never spent more than an hour or two on campus and it was usually spent cramped in my dorm room preaching to me about “being careful who I went out with” simply put my mother had a really warped perception of what exactly college life was. Family weekend is the perfect way for parents and other family members to see that their hard earned money isn’t being wasted.
Family Weekend could really be called Family Week, because all week the UConn gives campus tours to families and shows them what the campus is like while classes are in session. My family had never seen the campus “alive” before, they had only visited during move-in days but never during class sessions. When my parents saw that students go to class and we don’t party 7 days a week she felt much better.
Once the weekend begins though is when Family Weekend hits full stride. On Saturday the day begins with an event called Cultural Explosion, where all the different cultural groups on campus like Steel Pan Drum Club, The Irish American Cultural Society, B.A.I.L.E, UConn Taiko, Husky Bhangra and various others give a demonstration of their respective talents. Also there is an annual comedy show that provides some comic relief for the day and gives parents a look at one of the way that we relax and let loose here on campus. UConn is not just Spring Weekend and what you may see on the news, it is so much more than that, and Family Weekend gives our families a look into that.
Don’t think that this weekend is all games though; there are plenty of resources that you can and should take advantage of here during the weekend as well. After the more recreational events there is a huge family BBQ and get together where families can meet one another to give and receive advice, and upperclassmen are around to give families some insight as to how they deal with all the issues that come with being a college student. From there, the offices within the Wilbur Cross building all present workshops to help UConn families better familiarize themselves with the different aspects of what I like to call “UConn: Behind the Scenes.” All the offices that families need to be familiar with in order for their students to be successful give presentations and hold Q&A sessions. For example, the Bursar’s offices will show you how to go online to pay or check your fee bill and the Office of Financial Aid can show you how to fill out a FAFSA form and accept or deny your rewards. These workshops are key and I suggest that if you know any incoming freshman or anyone who may not be familiar with how these systems work that you direct them to these workshops.
The point of this blog is to address the problems that we have here on campus from a student’s perspective and give you a possible solution to them, as a junior I’ve been here for a while so believe me when I say that attending these workshops and taking advantage of what Family Weekend has to offer is something we all need to do. As minority students here at UConn we need to take advantage of the resources provided to us and Family Weekend can prove to be an invaluable one. The Cultural Explosion event is one that helps us keep in touch with our culture from back home, through dance and music and it also gives us a better sense of belonging here on campus. Say as a freshman, salsa dancing has always been big in your family and is more like a part of you than a hobby. Cultural Explosion not only exposes you to B.A.I.L.E where we salsa dance very week but it can give a way to stay connected to your home and family life. Also it shows your family, who may be a little skeptical of you attending such a huge university, that even though you may be a part of the minority here that you do have other people here to connect with. My family personally loves the fact that I dance here on campus and been able to form such close bonds with people here on campus and the first time they saw me with my UConn family was at Family Weekend.
Also given our lacking numbers here on campus I know that we may not know who to ask or feel comfortable asking someone for assistance. With the workshops they offer here on campus you can come get better acquainted with the services and offices here on campus. My freshman year, Family Weekend, helped not only me but my family adjust to my newfound college experience.
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