More than 900 people are registered for Family Weekend, an annual Plattsburgh State event which allows PSUC students and families to reconnect now that the fall semester is in full swing.
The weekend features several different activities for students to bring their families to, including a 3-mile fun run/walk, Burlington bus trip, and the Dueling Pianos event, all scheduled for Saturday.
“We like to time it right,” Director of PSUC Student Involvement Center Cori Jackson said. “We aim for about three or four weeks into the semester, when students have been away from home for a bit and are beginning to get more comfortable.”
Jackson mentioned specifically the Dueling Pianos event and Phi Eta Sigma induction ceremony as events families should be sure to attend.
The Dueling Pianos event will feature two pianists playing music together as well as competing against each other.
The event will be held Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Warren Ballrooms, and it is free and open to all PSUC students, not just those with visiting family members.
PSUC student Keith Anderson said though his parents have never made a visit during Family Weekend, he wouldn’t mind if they did.
“It may not seem like we’ve been here for that long, but I still get homesick sometimes,” Anderson said. “It would be nice to have the family up. A weekend is the perfect amount of time — not too long, not too short.”
Anderson said he probably would take his family off on their own instead of doing some of the planned campus-oriented activities, which Jackson said typically happens.
“Students like to show their families around campus and the town,” she said.
The activities planned for later in the day are meant to bring everyone back to campus to observe the reunion of students and their families.
PSUC student Rudy Guilgiano said his family has never visited Plattsburgh for Family Weekend.
“It’s hard for them to come up during this time, but we plan other times that are better for all of us,” he said.
Though it is not necessary for parents and family members to register for the weekend, Jackson said it was appreciated so the Student Involvement Center had a better idea of how many people would be attending the different events.
Families who are visiting for the weekend will have to stay in hotels in the surrounding area, none of which are a very long drive from the PSUC campus.
“This is always a very successful event,” Jackson said. “We love to do it and are glad that families seem to enjoy it as well.”
Email Maggie McVey at news@cardinalpointsonline.com.
