Check out our video coverage of Parents Weekend here.
Peden Stadium was packed, the bars were full to the brim and restaurants were stuffed this weekend as Ohio University held its first parents weekend on the semester system.
The beginning of parents weekend also meant the kickoff of many events.
Before many parents arrived in Athens, the Kennedy Museum of Art opened its new exhibit, Women Artists II, the second in a three-part series commemorating female artists from different time periods.
“We work on developing programs that work with these artworks, so we aim anywhere from between preschool age kids all the way through college kids,” said Barbara Jewell, a curator for the exhibit and a junior studying art history. “When we’re making these programs keeping in mind parents weekend and family day, we can craft programs that are directly for these audiences.”
On Friday night, some families headed to the Athena Cinema where Monty Python and the Holy Grail was showing Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Once on campus, many parents had the opportunity to hear a lecture by OU professor Deborah Thorne, who spoke on debt and financial distress at Baker University Center’s Front Room Saturday afternoon.
Many students also took advantage of OU’s game against Norfolk State on Saturday.
“It was really fun to bring my parents to an OU game because neither of them went here,” said Erin Casey, a freshman who hasn’t declared a major. “We used to go to (football games) a lot when I was little, so it’s cool to see a game from my own school.”
Some families headed to Ping Center on Saturday for its 5K walk/run to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of Athens County.
The walk was part of Big Brothers Big Sisters’ new Youth in Leadership program in which they partnered with seven local school districts to focus on nutrition and physical activity, said Tara Gilts, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Athens County.
“The kids absolutely loved it. They didn’t mind getting up at 6 to help set up,” Gilts said. “If (Ping) would like to work with us again, we would do it.”
Families also capitalized on section 4301.69 (A) of the Ohio Revised Code, which states that a parent may legally buy an underage person a drink in a bar as long as the person buying the drink is a legal guardian and of age to purchase alcohol.
“If the bartender doesn’t feel comfortable with who they’re serving, they can simply not serve them,” said Pete Holey, manager at Jackie O’s in a previous Post article. “For me though, once I check both IDs and make sure the last names match and all, I usually OK it. My intention is not really to get students drunk, but I’ll let them have a drink with their parents if they ask for it.”
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