Ohio State parents and family weekend will take place Sept. 16-18. Families can check in at The Ohio Union and begin a weekend full of events. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Loved ones are making their way to campus this weekend as Ohio State hosts its annual Parent and Family Weekend, with this year’s events coinciding with a home football game against Toledo.
From Sept. 16-18, families and parents can find a weekend full of events on campus, around Columbus and at Saturday’s tailgate. University spokesperson Dave Isaacs said Parent and Family Weekend is an opportunity for families to learn and experience exactly what their student endures throughout their time at Ohio State.
“It’s also very important for a student that family members support them,” Isaacs said. “Their support is an integral part of student success, and the more families that can relate to what their students are seeing and experiencing and what’s involved in their life, the better equipped they are to provide that support, even if it’s from a distance.”
According to the Office of Student Life Parent and Family Relations website, families can check-in at the Ohio Union and partake in events throughout the weekend including “A Walk in Our ‘Shoe: 100 Years of Ohio Stadium” at Thompson Library and enjoy free family workouts hosted at the Recreational and Physical Activity Center.
According to the website, other events include a lecture by Saeed Jones at the Wexner Center for the Arts, a photo opportunity with Bronze Brutus and the ability to see the current exhibitions at the Wexner Center and the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.
The Parent and Family Weekend schedule also includes events around Columbus and highlights the many resources students have off campus, Beth Ullum, assistant director of parent and family relations, said. Ullum said this variety has resulted in favorable reception from visiting families.
“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback from families,” Ullum said. “We equally highlight other things in the surrounding area that, if they are local to Ohio or want to checkout Columbus, we offer some great options for them as well”.
Isaacs said this weekend is a chance for generations to compare their experiences at Ohio State and reflect on similarities and differences over the years.
“For example, the Oval looks exactly as it did and is intended that way,” Isaacs said. “ It looks exactly as it did multiple generations ago when grandma and grandpa were here. It looks the same, and so I think a lot of people coming back to campus enjoy that experience of what’s the same and what’s new.”
Ullum said the Office of Student Life is looking forward to providing a true football game experience with a tailgate at the Ohio Union Saturday evening and celebrations at the game.
“The experience that these families are going to get in the stadium is the returning of all of the alumni band members and cheerleaders, so it’s typically where the Script Ohios happen, there’s cheerleaders all the way around the stadium,” Ullum said. “So, if they wanted a true out-of-control game-time experience, they’re definitely going to get this, having it also be the alumni game.”
