The All State

Media Credit: Marsel Gray Students' families are invited to tour the campus and participate in activities during Family Weekend. [Click to enlarge]

Oct. 26-28 is Family Weekend at Austin Peay State University. Family Weekend consists of a series of events in which the parents, spouses, and children of APSU students can visit campus and gain a better understanding of APSU and the university lifestyle.

Family Weekend is one the university's more recently developed programs. Shaun Ketterman, former assistant director of Student Life and Leadership (SLL), initially proposed the program during the 2006-2007 academic year.

Currently, Heidi Scheusner, director of SLL, and Melissa Davis, assistant director of SLL, are coordinating the event and assembling the weekend.

Similar programs are held at various university campuses, yet Family Weekend at APSU is different from others.

While most universities refer to their programs as "Parent's Weekend," APSU has chosen to title theirs differently. The name was changed because of the high number of non-traditional students who attend APSU.

The program should prove to be an exciting weekend. There are many scheduled events to draw a variety of people in. "There's something for everybody," Davis said. Many Greek and cultural organizations are planning open houses.

"There will be an open house for the families to come and see us and a Salsa Night for those interested in salsa and wanting to meet new people," said Enrica Albaro of the Hispanic Culture Center.

The program's main objective is to encourage families to support their students. Many students are first generation college students "Family Weekend is a great time for my family to come and see how I'm doing," said freshman, Alex Cook.

Family Weekend will be a chance for families to hear keynote speakers discuss important topics. Lectures on topics such as the Student Code of Conduct and Housing/Residence life will be given. There will also be open houses for the residence halls designed to show parents of traditional students what life is like.

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