A Call for Two Family Weekends

In hopes to boost students’ mental health, St. Lawrence University could introduce two family weekends during the school year. This could lower the stress and homesickness that students may face while being away from home.  Filling the campus with family is what some students need to stay positive. 

Executive Director of Laurentian Engagement and Annual Giving Joe Keniston ‘05 said, “Any time the campus is vibrant and there is a lot of activity it gives students more opportunity to get out of their rooms and gives them a happy college.” Keniston had to miss family weekend due to traveling for his golf tournaments. “I personally would have loved having two. I was on the golf team at St. Lawrence and we were often traveling in the fall,” he said.  Having two weekends would allow these fall athletes to still get the family time they currently miss. 

However, Keniston mentioned that the event might lose its magic if it were twice a year and that it might not even fit into the calendar during the spring. “Knowing that the academic calendar can be a little bit crunched, it might not fit as well as the family weekend does in the fall,” he stated.  

Justina Doin ‘94 is a current parent of a SLU student and talked about the difficulties with only one weekend. “It is very hard to get a hotel, so maybe it will space out some of that problem if there were two,” she stated. Doin would look forward to both weekends. There would not be a special tradition ruined, but rather, just another one added in. “If there are two family weekends I am going to two family weekends,” she said.   

Jacob Dafeldecker ‘24 believes another option would be nice for families that can’t make it in the fall. “I mean, for some students, the family weekend might be the only time they get to see their family,” he said.  For students’ mental health, the opportunity to spend quality time with their families is important for them to continue being away from home. “Everyone gets happier when they are around their family. Being away from home as long as we are up here, it would definitely help,” Dafeldecker stated.  

Senior Associate Director of Student Activities and Leadership Ashlee Downing-Duke said, “For students, if they are getting homesick, the beginning of April would be nice to see family and friends.” Although, some students’ families can’t ever make it up to campus due to many personal reasons.  Having two weekends full of families on campus could make it hard for those students to stay positive. “If we do it once, we try and find activities for students, even if their family can’t come. If we added one in the spring, it might be a little bit of a reminder for those whose families aren’t close how hard it is,” Downing-Duke said.