Whether parents wish to see how clean their sons/daughters keep their rooms, how they spend money, or have fun, many parents are choosing to attend Parents’ Weekend at NIU.

Some NIU students were asked whether or not their parents will visit, and the answers were equally split. Reasons for choosing whether or not to attend depend on timing, distance, frequency of visits and interests.

“A lot of students don’t want their parents to see how they spend their money,” Wes Swietek said. Many students who call home for cash for beer, munchies, and other luxuries can relate to this fact. Swietek’s parents are not visiting NIU’s Parents’ Weekend due to “bad timing.”

On the other hand, food will be supplied for the parents on Saturday, instead of them sending care packages of homemade brownies and cookies, by such events as the box lunch for the football game and residence hall dinners.

“We’re having a cookout here,” said Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity member Chris Keith. Although Keith sees his parents about twice a week since they live in Malta, they come each year for Parents’ Weekend.

Greg Longmire’s parents also visit each year. “We had fun last year and I got a pair of sweats out of it.” Longmire, who sees his parents about three times a semester, says they are visiting because,”My dad likes football and my mom likes the campus.”

Tom Long, who is at NIU for his fourth year, said his parents are not coming Saturday because they have been to Parents’ Weekend before and he “goes home a lot anyway.”

But for others, seeing their sons/daughters at college may be a last chance. “It’s the last time they’ll see me in college,” John Canfield said. He and his brother at University of Illinois are both graduating this winter from their respective schools.

For many students who live close to NIU and visit home regularly, it is not worth it to them for their parents to visit. Junior Linda Beatty works weekends at home and has a sister who is a graduate student from NIU, so her parents are quite familiar with the campus already.

Distance can be another factor. “They were here recently and live too far to come out every weekend,” Robert Hester said. “I’ll be working the football game anyway (as part of the NIU Sports Information staff).”

For those students whose parents are unable to attend Saturday’s events, they can possibly send them a letter and a care package of their own, including Spaghettios, stamps, and bank deposit slips, and be glad they do not have to clean their rooms.