As the tradition of Family Weekend quickly approaches, excitement builds for sorority and fraternity members who roll out the red carpet for their parents, showcasing their lives as college students.
Family Weekend gives parents the opportunity to spend time with their children, meet their college friends and participate in events with sorority or fraternity chapters.
Many chapters will often hold luncheons or dinners, like the New Member Presents dinners, which are held at off-campus locations and focus on the chapters’ recently initiated members and their families.
According to Brooke Serack, president of the UA Panhellenic Executive Council, New Member Presents dinners let parents and families meet all the newest members of their daughter’s pledge class.
“It’s a really cool event,” Serack said.
Samantha Barbee, a criminal justice junior and Delta Gamma member, will be celebrating Family Weekend with her parents. Barbee will attend the Delta Gamma barbecue Saturday and will also go to a glass blowing class with her mom, roommate and her roommate’s mom.
“My favorite part about Family Weekend is seeing everyone else’s families,” Barbee said.
Chelsea Estes, Delta Gamma president, wrote in an email that the sorority will also be hosting a Family Weekend brunch and an open house for families to see the new renovations on Sunday.
Joshua Schwartz, president of Sigma Alpha Mu, is looking forward to the weekend’s festivities.
“We have a member whose family is coming as far as the East Coast,” Schwartz said.
Sigma Alpha Mu will host a banquet for families and fraternity members Friday night which will feature an awards ceremony, speeches and a video montage. Sigma Alpha Mu will partner with Alpha Epsilon Pi Saturday to host a gameday barbecue. The fraternity will have a farewell brunch Sunday morning to wrap up the weekend.
Schwartz’s mother, father and brother will be visiting from Phoenix and will participate in the Family Weekend festivities along with his girlfriend. Schwartz will not only be participating in his fraternity’s activities, but also has a dinner planned with his fraternity family, including bigs, littles and even grandbigs.
“It’s a tradition that the Saturday night after the game, we all go out to dinner together,” Schwartz said. “Family Weekend is really the only opportunity we have once a year to showcase the amount of work that goes into running a fraternity.”
People don’t always get to see the hours of hard work that are put into running a fraternity, such as planning philanthropy events, special weekends for parents and managing and maintaining the house, Schwartz said.
“It’s our opportunity to recognize those brothers for the excellence that they show and for their contribution to the organization, and that’s really exciting.”
