Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.
I’ve been participating in the Homecoming & Family Weekend activities at Colorado State University by myself for a solid three years now. And by participating, I mean I go to the game, and then I go home for the remainder of the evening because I normally work all weekend. But ever since my first Homecoming, when I discovered that both Homecoming and family weekend were on the same weekend, I have always wondered why that is the case and if it really is just because they are trying to lessen the partying in Fort Collins.
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Homecoming weekends are probably the most popular time of the semester to have parties going on throughout town because it is the middle of the semester. We all just finished or are about to finish our midterms, and we’ve realized the semester isn’t over yet — we still have eight more weeks to go. The weekend is ordinarily when students get the chance to blow off steam — unless your family decided to plan a surprise trip into town, and now you’re responsible for hosting them.
For all intents and purposes, hosting families during Homecoming weekend makes sense. It creates this issue wherein students have a responsibility to host their parents as well as a responsibility to be the poster child for legal school spirit. Yet there are many times when you see parents at the football games embracing their youth. So does this really do anything to dampen the partying that happens over the weekend?
Truthfully, probably not. Having Homecoming weekend and family weekend at the same time is so parents can have the opportunity to experience college life from the perspective of their child. But this also means not stopping or getting in the way students embracing the fullness of what the night could offer.
Plus, the many parents who come to campus probably don’t even choose the busiest weekend of the whole semester to visit. Their presence impacts students’ ability to have fun during Homecoming, and hotel prices are cheaper at other times. Parents who visit outside of Homecoming get to experience a college student’s real weekend, not the fabricated one the university pulls off.
The reality is that Homecoming is more of an opportunity for alumni, rather than parents, to come together and celebrate the history that is CSU. But by inviting families to join in, CSU is trying to expand their horizons by welcoming people to be a part of the university experience. But more than anything, they are trying to dampen the fun and enjoyment the students would have on any normal weekend.
Bringing parents to campus doesn’t suddenly mean the partying will stop. Instead, it provides an opportunity for the university to host a small portion of parents on a day that isn’t graduation, allows the community to celebrate and gives students the opportunity to invite their parents to tag along for the weekend of partying they have planned.
The Homecoming events held and showcased at CSU really are enjoyable for all students and do create a nice break in the business of the semester. Homecoming allows parents the opportunity to come and see their children on a weekend when they know they might be a bit more stressed and need some family — if the student really enjoys having their family around, that is. But it doesn’t really stop anything from happening that wouldn’t already happen on a Homecoming weekend.
Reach Dominique Lopez at letters@collegian.com or on Twitter @caffeinateddee6.
