Family weekend: take advantage of all the opportunities this weekend
This is the Our View, prepared for by the Editorial Board and should be considered the institutional voice of The Record.
CSB+SJU’s Family Weekend will be held on Oct. 21-Oct. 23. This will be the first family weekend since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the first in two years without all of the restrictions.
Family weekend is a time for tailgating, potentially cleaning your room and hopefully not a time for your parents to embarrass you. Family weekend is a fun excuse for your family to come see where you disappear off to for 9 months of the year, and particularly for parents that are alums, an opportunity to visit their old stomping grounds and chat with their friends.
However, there will also be a whole other group of students who aren’t experiencing family weekend in the same way: those whose families aren’t able to make it to campus. Coming to college in Minnesota can already be an isolating experience for many international and out-of-state students, and family weekend may only intensify these feelings.
According to the fall 2021 student body statistics, there were 529 out-of-state and more than 110 international students enrolled at CSB and SJU. Additionally, not all families of in-state students come to campus for family weekend. Add all those three groups up, and you get a sizable amount of the student body without family visiting. If you are a student whose family is coming and you know someone whose family isn’t able to come, invite them to spend some time with you and your family. Sometimes being around other families reminds students of their own families back home, and it makes them feel more welcomed to the CSB+SJU community.
For students whose family isn’t able to come, take time to meet your friends’ families and stick around to talk with them longer than just simple introductions. Yes, it can be awkward at first, but it means something to your friends and their families. You may even find that they can be a resource for you if you need something while on campus.
Finally, if you and your friends’ families aren’t able to come, turn to the family you are creating at St. Ben’s and St. John’s: the forever friendships with your peers. CSB and SJU are residential for a reason, and that’s to build bonds between the students that attend the schools. Your “family” can be your group of friends, so why not use Family Weekend as an opportunity to spend intentional time with your CSB+SJU family?
The differentiation between experiences should not dampen the fun. Family weekend contains a ton of events, none of which are exclusive to families. There’s a number of sports games Friday and Saturday, and the Multicultural Center and Peer Resource Program are hosting several events. PRP will even be hosting a variety show at Milk and Honey Saturday evening which can be a great way to get involved in the community.
Take time this weekend to maybe even try something new on campus. If you haven’t already, do the chapel walk or take a swim at Lake Sagatagan (although it might be too cold for that at this time of the year). Take advantage of the weekend to start studying for that exam you have been dreading or a little fall dorm room cleaning. Whether family weekend is a joyful reunion or makes you miss home, it is a weekend to be enjoyed by all.