On Sunday, Sept. 25, The University Program Council, or UPC, will host a complimentary breakfast for hungry students and departing Parents Weekend guests on the second floor of Baker Center.
"It's going to be outside Baker Theater in the theater lounge area," said Luke Vannus, treasurer of the UPC and a sophomore studying family consumer science education. "We are going to have a table set up with various pastries and drinks from catering that they can get from they can just sit at a table, talk, have their last conversations before they part ways."
The breakfast event is intended to end Parents Weekend and will last from 10:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.
"We describe it as basically a one last stop out of town," said Reagan Goldberg, president of the UPC and a senior studying restaurant, hotel and tourism.
Participants who wish to attend can enter Baker Center, travel to the second floor and walk around the escalator. There, they will find the theater lobby hosting the event.
UPC is responsible for providing cultural, social, recreational, educational and entertainment programs throughout the year.
"There are university events, which is what Luke's in charge of, and then we have creative events," Reagan said. "And so with university events, they take charge of all the special weekends the university provides, like homecoming, and now Parents Weekend. Creatives can do events whenever they want throughout the year. So some examples of that have been like Fall Fest."
When asked about his experiences with UPC before he had joined, Vannus shared how his interests aligned with UPC.
"So (before) joining UPC, I had gone to the drag show," Vannus said. "And as a huge fan of RuPaul's Drag Race, I was like, 'I'm gonna join that club.' And that's how I made a lot of my friends."
Goldberg also had a memorable first encounter with UPC, inspiring her to join.
"For me, my first UPC event was actually the Jesse McCartney concert for throwback and that was my freshman year, and a week after that was when spring break happened and then we just never came back to campus (due to COVID lockdowns)," said Goldberg.
Jake Haire, a senior studying marketing and integrated media, said he enjoyed that people have the option to get involved, even on the Sunday of Parents Weekend.
"I think that's really cool," Haire said. "Usually most parents are just like, 'alright, we had our fun. Bye.' So it definitely feels like a nicer parting gift where everyone can just relax and that's a nice area where they're eating too. So it's nice that they're putting something together to provide a more casual send off rather than everyone doing it individually."
Vannus encouraged those interested in getting involved with UPC to reach out this weekend or whenever they are available.
"I'll be in a UPC shirt," Vannus said. "They can come to us then. They can also reach out to us on our social media."
Interested parties can get more information on social media, @ohioupc on all platforms, or they can attend a meeting Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in Baker 231.
