Placing Parents’ Weekend and Homecoming on separate weekends was a cash grab.
In recent memory, parents’ weekend and homecoming have fallen on the same weekend, allowing Colorado Mesa University (CMU) alumni and parents of current CMU students to mingle. This year, however, our university decided to separate the two weekends, for seemingly no reason.
While there’s no outright reasoning as to the decision to make the switch, one common argument might be the size of the freshman class this year far exceeds any previous class. While that would make sense, there is a significant portion of Western Slope natives who attended CMU, and some of their children followed in those footsteps.
A potential benefit to this separation, however, could be the dual benefit to the local economy. If an alumnus decided to visit for both weekends, small businesses in Grand Junction may receive the benefit of someone going out to eat twice, instead of just once, or visiting a different antique shop each time.
In addition, when the events were combined, the weekend featured many more activities, as everything was packed into a single week. With the separation, both weekends were much more scarce with activities, and also gave family members that made the trip for parents’ weekend much less to do.
Speaking from experience, my father didn’t even make the trip for parents’ weekend, citing the overall lack of attractions to attend. Instead, he opted to make the trek for homecoming, despite not even attending CMU.
The other significant strain was in the athletics department. The homecoming and parents’ weekend combination allowed one football game to become crowded, only requiring one day of additional staffing. With the switch, however, event staff had to have two different Saturdays of additional staffing. To compound the problem, the weekend immediately after parents’ weekend saw 13 events over Friday and Saturday, likely leading to burnout and frustration for many employees of athletics, both student workers and professional staff.
On the academic side, students’ grades may suffer if their parents decide to visit twice. I know that when my family rolls into town, I am not getting any homework done. Outside of just not doing homework, it’s much more likely that I’ll skip classes, studying and even some aspects of campus life to visit with them.
On an emotional side, however, I can honestly say I feel better the week after my family visits. There’s a certain piece of me that’s usually overwhelmingly glad to see any member of my family.
In all reality, there are pros and cons to moving these weekends to separate times. However, I believe the main reason for this was to get more money into the college using places such as Hotel Maverick, Devil’s Kitchen, the athletic events and brunch in The Caf.
