Family Day events draw crowd despite rain

Kathi Walker / The Bulletin

Families and students gathered indoors to eat before Saturdays’ football game at Welch Stadium against Augastana. Due to the weather, people were allowed to bring the tailgating inside so they might enjoy the meal and stay dry.

Despite showers, Family Day activities drew quite a crowd last Saturday. Starting at 7 a.m., there were numerous activities for families to partake in throughout the day. Although a few events were cancelled due to weather, the majority of events continued as scheduled.

“It’s good for the whole family to soak up the tradition of the school that their child is attending,” said Charlene Hughes, Olathe, Kan. “By enjoying family day together, it makes it a family tradition. Plus, it helps parents to know the surroundings that their child is experiencing every day. As an alumni, I’ve really enjoyed the softball game and I’m excited for the football game.”

The day kicked off with the Great American Market which was set up along Commercial Street. There were many canopies set up to allow shoppers to look around without getting soaked. There were also concession venders along with some businesses who were advertising.

One of the first events to take place on the ESU campus was the Pass, Catch and Kick contest that took place in the late morning in the practice field by the Student Recreation Center.

This was the fifth year that the event has happened and the event is set up by one of the Recreation Classes.

Each team had to comprise of one ESU student and one immediate family member and the winner of the event was the one that completed the contest the fastest. The main idea of the game was that one member of the team passes the football from the 50 yard line to their teammate at the 30 yard line. From there the ball is to be kicked through the goalpost uprights by either team member from anywhere between the 30 yard line and the 10 yard line. Prizes for the contest included gift certificates for the MU book store and t-shirts.

“I enjoy Pass, Catch and Kick because it’s family oriented and it’s something that I can do with my dad,” said Hannah Prophet, junior physical education major. “Luckily we have more people playing this year... Last year, my dad and I won second. Our strategy was that I threw and he caught and kicked.”

An alternative option for parents that didn’t want to be in the rain was to tour the Physical Science building from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Here, parents and students were encouraged to view the displays and museums along with a few demonstrations and shows. This included viewing the Johnston Geology Museum located on the first floor of the building. Individuals could view fossils, rock and minerals, most of which are from Kansas. They were also encouraged to view the newly remodeled chemistry laboratories on the second floor of the building.

“I was pretty enthusiastic about family day,” said DeWayne Backhus, professor and department chair of physical sciences. “We wanted to show tax payers what’s necessary for programs in the physical sciences and we are eager to share with the public a look behind the scenes to show what we need and what it takes to create good facilities for education at ESU.”

While families had the option to view displays, they could also view a 15 minute program featuring objects visible in the current sky at the Peterson Planetarium on the ground floor of the building. The Peterson Planetarium is capable of showing the sky of any destination in the world at any time of the year. The state-of-the-art planetarium system was installed in 1997.

“I decided to come out for family day because we wanted to tour the facilities,” said Mindy Blake, Clay Center, Kan. “I’m most excited to see the physical science building because I teach physical science. We had to bribe the little brother to come, but we wanted to check up on our first child at ESU (and) see if we were getting our money’s worth.”

Before the football game, students had the opportunity to eat at the cookout by the tennis courts from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m. The event was free to students and every new ESU student received two free tickets.

Many people attended the cookout, including members of the Stingers dance team, ESU softball players, ESU families and President Lane and his wife, Peggy Lane, associate professor in accounting and information systems.

The event was hosted by Sodexho. Instead of typical barbecue food, they served tacos with chips and salsa. However, in the parking lot, some families and groups decided to host their own tailgating events.

“We are hosting our family tailgating event this weekend,” said Nick Foster, business administration major and president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “I’d say that 50 percent of our members and their families are attending the event. We are just grilling and relaxing. Even though we’d wished for better weather conditions, we have a canopy out to keep the rain away.”

After the cookout, families were invited to go see the ESU football game against Augustana (S.D.). at Welch stadium. After the game, students could also attend the ESU International Food Festival in the MU Hornet’s Nest.