Family Weekend 2011
With a full schedule of activities, parents were as busy as a U of C student during fifth week at this year's Family Weekend. The events included model classes with all-star professors like Allen Sanderson, and a champagne brunch with Dean John Boyer, who shared the quirky history of the quarter system.
At the Homecoming game and tailgate on Saturday, families had the chance to see the life of the mind – outside the classroom – and celebrate a win against Kenyon College.
Andrew, Silvia and Isaac '15 Stern of North Miami, FL
What are you both looking forward to this weekend?
Andrew: Definitely the football game! Isaac is on the football team.
Silvia: We didn’t miss any of his high school games and we’ve gone to three of the home games this season already.
Do you catch away games from home?
Silvia: We tune into the live cast. That’s our Saturday afternoon.
What do you think of your first season on the Maroon team?
Isaac: It has been awesome to tale football up from high school to college. And really, it’s the same experience as any other college game, even if we don’t have a huge stadium. Everyone should know you can still get the same atmosphere as the big games
Marie, Kirsten '14 and Rodney Olsen from Roscoe, IL
What has been your favorite part of family weekend?
Rodney: My favorite part was having the sit with Kirsten and talk about her year.
Marie: We had so much fun watching her direct the pep band at the Homecoming game yesterday. She was the drum major in her last two years of high school, so it just fits so well.
Mike and Pat Fernandez of Minneapolis, MN
What do you think of campus after your first Family Weekend?
Pat: We now have our doubts about this being where fun come to die. Everyone seems to be having a really darn good time.
What did you think of the mock classes?
Mike: We greatly enjoyed the Econ Professor Allen Sanderson. The class was really lively and he was willing to talk about the political climate.
Pat: It was definitely spirited. Even the parents wanted to jump up and say something. After sitting there for an hour, I wished I was back in college.
Doug Pearce, Trevor Pearce '15 and Karlyn Mitchell
Did you learn anything new during family weekend?
Karlyn: I learned an awful lot at the events.
Doug: I didn’t realize that, before the University of Chicago of today, it was initially a university that went bankrupt. I had no idea before this weekend.
Peter and Diane Gluck of Ann Arbor, MI
What have you learned about the U of C this weekend?
Peter: Well, I really thank Adam (‘14) for finding the University. He unearthed it. He’s was always interested in it. But now we see that it is as advertised. There really is the environment of learning through inquiry.
Benjamin '14, Karen and Robert Field of Lancaster, PA
What was your favorite event this weekend?
Karen: I had the chance to see the carillon in Rockefeller yesterday. The student gave a wonderful tour of the the bells and we went up to the roof. You could see out across campus. It was beautiful. I also stopped into the gift shop of the Robie House. I could tell that was a place I wanted to take a look at today.
Paolo Tomaz-Buccino, Alfredo Tomaz and Marguerite Buccino of Dallas, TX
What is your favorite Hyde Park restaurant?
Marguerite: Definitely Harold’s Chicken. I may be from Connecticut, but I love Harold’s. I really need to get in touch with Harold and see if he can open up a place in Dallas.
Story & photos by Amy Myers, '13, Parents New Media Editor.
