Friday, September 26th, marked the beginning of Family Weekend at Saint Anselm College. Families flocked from all over to visit the college and have a great weekend of fun and games. The events that took place included multiple sports games, the Cabaret put on by the Abbey Players, the Multicultural Day Celebration, the annual Book Sale in Geisel Library, a Fun Run, Tailgating, and much more! Unfortunately, the archeological dig was canceled due to bad conditions from the rain, but hopefully next year’s Family Weekend will be even better. New students got a taste of true Saint Anselm culture, and returners had yet another great weekend. The only major difference from past years to this year was the parking situation: parking for tailgating was no longer free, and families had to pay for a spot. The parking across other campus lots was open, and the monastery kindly offered the field next to the St. Bernard Court lot as overflow parking, but tailgating activities, such as grilling, were limited to South Lot and the surrounding areas where parking spots were sold. One anonymous student commented on the change, saying “Aside from having to pay for parking, it was really awesome! I wish everyone was able to enjoy tailgating as much as we did!” Although some students were upset about having to pay for parking, overall, Family Weekend was a success. The Deputy Director of Athletics, Jonathan Harper, commented “Family Weekend was a wonderful success as we hosted Football, Women’s Ice Hockey, and Women’s Volleyball. Women’s Ice Hockey opened their season on Friday night to kickoff Family Weekend. We sold over 330 tailgating spots for the football game against Pace.” On Friday, Saint Anselm Women’s Hockey and Volleyball played Saint Michael’s College and won both games. On Saturday, Women’s Volleyball beat Post University, Women’s Ice Hockey beat Saint Michael’s College, and Football beat Pace University. Some sports teams, like the Lacrosse team, even had a tent at the tailgate where they sold merchandise and had a cookout and games like cornhole for the team and their families to enjoy. The Book Sale in Geisel spanned the whole weekend, and of course the Bookstore was open so that family members could update their wardrobes with the most fashionable Saint Anselm swag. Other events were also a big hit for Family Weekend. The Abbey Players put on a wonderful Oscars-themed Cabaret with amazing performances by students. A few of the songs that were sung were “Am I a Man, or Am I a Muppet?” from the Muppet Movie, “Shallow” from A Star is Born, and “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Misérables. The Multicultural Day Celebration had a great turnout, as well as a raffle for a free book, and tons of great foods from all over the world. The celebration included foods, art, and performances from a wide variety of ethnicities and many different tables on the Joan of Arc Quad. A senior at Saint Anselm, Abigail Johnston commented her thoughts on Family Weekend: “I did a lot on Family Weekend. My mom came up on Friday to see my friends in the Cabaret; on Saturday, we tailgated with my entire family and several of my friends’ families. It was a lot of fun! My family also visited Sunday for brunch!” Abi described how some of her friends and their families were still able to enjoy the weekend and the tailgate, which was the main attraction, by joining her at their tailgating spot. Kate Lessard, one of the Saint Anslem Staff members in charge of organizing Family weekend said there was not “an approximate headcount for attendance Question on the quad: What are students doing for fall break? SYDNEY MAZUR Crier Staff over the weekend, but the weekend was very busy and there were a significant amount of people on campus Saturday and Sunday.” Another student, Rome Spiniello, described his experience. “I hung out with friends and their families during the tailgate since mine didn’t come up. We ate food and I had fun because I was with them. Peak Cinema!” Even the students whose families can not make it for Family Weekend can still enjoy the numerous activities. Students should learn from this year and plan ahead to figure out who’s family is going to get a parking spot and who’s family is going to party crash that spot.