For some parents, visiting their children for family weekend a chance to remember their own college days.

Mary McDonald, a UA alumna from Douglas, said every time she visits the UA campus “”it brings back lots of memories.””

Technology has really changed since she went to the UA, McDonald said.

“”In a way it’s easier, but in a way it also makes student life more complicated,”” McDonald said.

McDonald said her daughter, Sarah McDonald, a agricultural and resource economics graduate student, went to study in Africa for a semester and asked her to check her email so it didn’t fill up with junk mail while she was away.

“”I just was amazed at all the information that was available to students. There’s lots of different opportunities,”” McDonald said. “”In a way its kind of overwhelming.””

Steve Mack, a UA alumnus from Chicago, said one of the greatest differences between his college experiences and those of his three children who have attended the UA, is the lack of information parents are given due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

Mack said the laws now prevent parents from

being able to speak with teachers and administrators about their child’s progress, which could be a concern for parents if their child is flunking classes.

“”Fortunately, with my kids I don’t have to worry,”” Mack said.

However, Mack said technology improvements make it easier to stay in contact with his kids, talking on their cell phones or by text messaging.

Professors are also using more technology, including e-mail and Web sites, making them more available to students.

“”Now there’s no excuse for not being able to succeed,”” Mack said.

Rocky Curtis, a UA alumnus, also said technology improvements seem to be the greatest difference since he attended college.

“”We just didn’t have that. It’s changed every aspect of life and education,”” Curtis said.

Including class registration, Curtis said.

“”We used to have to wait in long lines in the basketball gym,”” Curtis said.

Curtis also said e-mail, computers and other technologies have vastly changes how students write papers, take notes and talk to their professors.

“”If we wanted to talk to our professors we had to wait until the end of class,”” Curtis said.

Curtis also said Tucson has grown a lot since he graduated the UA and his three children came to attend.

McDonald said the campus is a lot bigger than when she attended and said the Recreation Center and Campus Health buildings were good additions to the campus.

“”I remember the Campus Health building when I went. It was just a very dinky little building that people tried to avoid if they could,”” McDonald said.

Mack said a lot of the campus, including the UA Mall and residence halls, seemed the same since he attended the UA.

The Manuel T. Pacheco Integrated Learning Center is a nice addition to the campus, especially since it didn’t change much of the overall campus appearance, Mack said.

However, some things like clothes and hair styles aren’t as different as expected, McDonald said.

“”Its funny how fashions are coming back,”” McDonald said.