Family Weekend Highlights Students’ Experiences at Mississippi College

Family Weekend provides an opportunity for parents to see how well their students are enjoying the MC experience.

Parents, siblings, and other relatives of Mississippi College students are invited to share in what their young scholars have been experiencing this fall as part of a fun-packed weekend of activities on the Clinton campus.

Family Weekend at Mississippi College is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17-18. Festivities will include a trivia competition, “Parent University” sessions, a tailgate party, residence hall room visitations, and much more.

Jonathan Nutt, director of student engagement at MC, said Family Weekend lets parents who sent their students to college last month learn what campus life at the Christian University is really all about.

“It’s really a great opportunity for families to walk onto campus, spend time with their students, see what they’ve done with their dorm rooms, see that they’re enjoying it here, and see that they’re thriving here,” Nutt said.

Typically, college students living away from home for the first time don’t always cherish having their family members tag along with them on campus visits. With a scheduled slate of fun activities geared toward family involvement, however, Family Day offers a notable exception, Nutt said.

“To set a weekend where it’s fine for the students to spend time with their parents, to include their parents in activities, and for the parents to see the fun atmosphere we have on campus, is really important,” Nutt said. “Parents have said they like the time they get to spend with their students most of all.”

Family Weekend at MC is scheduled to begin with check-in at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Alumni Hall lobby. The first 200 guests will receive free stickers and a special Family Weekend T-shirt. Residence halls will be open from 7-10 p.m. for families to visit their students’ residence hall rooms, and a Family Game Hour, featuring a lively trivia contest, is set for 7 p.m. in the Commons.

The bulk of Family Weekend activities is scheduled for Saturday. After check-in and a light breakfast at 9 a.m. in the Piazza, families will be treated to Parent University at 9:30 a.m. in selected classrooms throughout campus.

“MC professors will hold lectures on special topics in different academic disciplines,” Nutt said. “Parents get to sit in the seats their students sit in and listen to the professors they listen to. Parents usually enjoy that.”

After an hour in the classroom, family members can stretch their legs in the Quad with a competitive cornhole tournament dished up with a serving of ice cream, or participate in a challenging photo scavenger hunt throughout the MC campus and Olde Towne Clinton for a basketful of prizes.

At 11 a.m., family members may join a spirited gathering at the Family Weekend tailgate tent or may set up their own tailgating tents in the Quad. Lunch will be available for purchase near Nelson Drive until 1:30 p.m., and residence halls will reopen for family visitation until 5 p.m.

Family Weekend participants will be invited to cheer on the Mississippi College football team when it takes on the University of Fort Lauderdale at 2 p.m. in Robinson-Hale Stadium. The daylong festivities will conclude at 6:30 p.m. in the Quad with Squeal Night – in which female students finishing Recruitment will find out which tribes they will call home.

Family Weekend is free to all parents and families of MC students. For more information about the event, email Jonathan Nutt at nutt@mc.edu.