Having dinner with the president has never been so easy.

On Saturday, NIU welcomes students and their families for a reception following the NIU-SIU gridiron football game. The reception includes a cash bar and will give families the opportunity to meet NIU president John La Tourette among other university officials.

“The reception gives people the chance to mingle with the president and faculty,” said University Programming and Activities adviser Mark Shafer. “It’s a good informal gathering with the president.”

The reception is free and all are welcome.

The reception will be followed by a sit-down dinner in the Regency room at the Holmes Student Center. During the dinner, speeches will be given by President La Tourette and other NIU faculty.

The dinner is $12 per person and includes salad, chicken sesame over wild rice, mixed vegetables, rolls, beverages and dessert. Reservations are required for the dinner.

The reception gives students a good opportunity and good reason to invite their parents up for the weekend. “It’s a time when parents can be formally invited to the university instead of waiting for the students to invite them,” Shafer said.

“This way parents can see the university at a time other than orientation and graduation,” he continued.

The family reception is now in its fourth year and has made progress from an experimental first year. “This year we have added music,” Shafer said. “There seems to be about a 40 to 50 person increase every year.”

The university also is offering a wide array of other activities for families. Ranging from walking tours of the campus to a casino night, the university intends on keeping visiting families busy.

The reception will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Regency Room at the student center.

For more information, please call 753-1421, or 1-800-332-HOWL.