Mix of events bring parents to 'U' for weekend

With a myriad of events and activities, the University played host to thousands of visiting parents this past weekend.

Parents Weekend 1998, organized by the Student Alumni Council, took place Friday through Sunday.

"Parents weekend gives parents a chance to come up to the University and get a feel of the campus while classes are in session," said Business junior Tracie Heyman, one of the event's co-directors.

Hailing from all corners of the world, more than 3,500 parents attended the ninth annual parents weekend. Two parents traveled from Russia to visit their child.

"The purpose of the SAC is to bring together students and alumni. We link the past with the present and the future," said SAC President Kelly Korreck, an LSA fifth-year student. "Parents weekend is the largest event for SAC, and it is all run by stu

SARA SCHENCK/Daily LSA junior Stacey Johnson and her father Ken spend time together during Parents Weekend.

dents."

Coinciding with multiple other University events, parents weekend offered many entertaining activities for parents and students.

In addition to Saturday's football game against Wisconsin, a sold-out performance at Michigan Theater featured comedian Margaret Cho. An art exhibition titled "The Secret Spaces of Childhood" opened during the weekend in the Residential College Art Gallery in East Quad Residence Hall showcasing the artistry of Jim Cogswell and Jean Magnano Bollinger, wife of University President Lee Bollinger.

"We were happy that a lot of parents and families came," Art Project Director Elizabeth Goodenough said.

Many Ann Arbor stores extended their hours of operation to accommodate the influx of parents.

"I love it here. There is so much to offer the students. If (students) chose to take advantage of everything here, they will all be very enriched," said Susan Kaufman, a visiting parent from Great Neck, N.Y.

Kaufman and many other parents participated in tours of the University's Museum of Art and the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology as an alternative to attending the football game.

"I was really looking forward to seeing my parents," LSA first-year student Daria Moaveni said. "We went to the football game and then a performance of 'La Traviatta.'

"My parents love U of M. They always say they would like to go to school here. They love the diversity and being in a college atmosphere," Moaveni said.

LSA junior Lauren Fredericks, co-director of the weekend, echoed this excitement.

"This was the biggest and best parents weekend ever," she said.

11-16-98