First-Years Receive Parents

Parents of first-years came to campus this weekend to get a taste of current College life.

Almost two months after Sept. 11, terrorism and anthrax threats weighed heavily on some students’ minds, making the weekend more significant.

“It made it more important for me to spend quality time with my parents because we realized what the potential danger was, and the frailty of our lives,” Elisabeth M. Cutright-Smith ’05 said.

The tragedy didn’t deter parents from visiting their children. Attendance this weekend was similar to that of previous years.

“My parents had bought tickets to visit me during the summer itself. I’m glad that they came, and they’re not the type to overstay their welcome, so it was nice,” Amanda V.H. Thornton ’05 said.

Many families attended Saturday’s Harvard-Dartmouth football game.

Other events included a tour of University museums and a Faculty discussion. Select classes were also open to parents. And some parents made their own plans.

“We adopted my friend since her parents couldn’t come, and went out for dinner,” Dina H. Yanushpolsky ’05 said.

Many students hurried to clean their rooms before their parents came.

“I did try and tidy my room before my parents came, but it turned out that it wasn’t good enough,” Manik V. Suri ’05 said. “My mom came into my room, took one look and walked straight out; she spent the next hour vacuuming and cleaning the whole place up.”

Others took advantage of their parents’ hotel rooms.

“It was great to have a relaxing bath at my parents’ hotel room this weekend,” Cutright-Smith said. “It was weird to see home life collide with college life, although it was really nice to be with my parents again.”