Although there was not a speaker for the Kerschner Fam­ily Series Global Leaders this Family Weekend, there was no short supply of entertainment for the students and their visi­tors. Friday, October 28 kicked off the weekend with a multitude of events for students and their families. Students were able to show their families the educa­tional side of Colgate when Pro­fessor of English George Hudson reprised his popular convoca­tion speech “The Beauty of Lan­guage” that he had given for the Class of 2015 earlier this year. Departmental open houses gave students a chance to introduce their professors to their parents and show them what the atmo­sphere is like for their major. Families and students were also able to experience art at Colgate, as the Iroquois Bead exhibit in the Longyear Museum of Alumni Hall provided a glimpse into the culture of Upstate New York.

“My brothers went here so I had to show my parents something that they had not seen before. We went to the visualization lab in Ho. The films they were showing were in­teresting and my parents were very impressed with the construction,” sophomore Alex Hite said.

Friday’s activities came to an end as the Colgate 13 and Swing­in’ Gates performed in the Colgate Memorial Chapel that evening, at­tracting large crowds of students with their parents.

Saturday morning, sorority members took their parents to the houses for brunch, tours and a chance to meet their sorority sis­ters. Just down the road, families were treated to a taste of village life at the weekly farmers’ mar­ket. Around 1 p.m., families were able to attend the Colgate Raiders football game against the defend­ing Patriot League champions, Lehigh, or were able to watch the men’s club rugby team take on SUNY Plattsburgh in state semi-finals. Neither the overlapping times nor the dropping tempera­tures kept fans away, considering that large groups came out to sup­port the teams. The men’s rugby team walked away with a win and the opportunity to play for the state title the next day at home.

“The rugby game on Saturday was one of the more fun things we did this weekend, even though I do not know the rules. I was very surprised by the large amount of fans and how much they wanted to know about rugby, despite the cold weather. The second half was spectacular,” mother of sophomore Jenni Caputo, Patricia Caputo said.

After the football game, families had the option of attending the Raid­ers’s women’s hockey game. Later that evening, a conflict arose again, as stu­dents and their visitors had to choose whether they wanted to hear come­dian and actor Jim Belushi’s com­edy show at The Palace in downtown Hamilton, watch the men’s hockey game in Starr Rink or attend the Dis­chords and Resolutions concert in the Chapel.

Malcolm Bliss, father of sopho­more Emily Bliss, was impressed with the amount of events and ac­tivities they were able to attend over Family Weekend.

“I can’t believe all that we did… visited [Emily’s] suite, campus tour, sorority brunch, Barge Canal, farm­ers market, went to the rugby game, visualization lab, southwest art open­ing, Iroquois bead exhibit, dinner at Brewster Inn, quick foosball at Risky Business, Church, brunch at Frank, walk up the hill. I only wish I could have been at two places at once to do more – exciting end to rugby game and hockey game… Colgate and the Colgate community have so much to offer,” Bliss said.

Although Sunday brought an end to Family Weekend, those who stuck around long enough witnessed the Colgate men’s rug­by team become New York State Champions with a big win over Niagara University.

Overall, it was a very successful and entertaining weekend that was enjoyable for everyone. There was never a lack of activities to attend and people to meet. The movement of the Kerschner Family Series Glob­al Leaders speaker to April 13, 2012 will bring a large influx of families, but after the success of this week­end, Colgate will be able to handle the pressure and make another great time for students and families alike.

Contact Morgan Giordano at [email protected]