This weekend marks another annual Sibs ‘N’ Kids weekend at BGSU.
In our opinion, this affords the University an excellent chance to recruit more students. It also allows students to bring their siblings to campus and build character into their lives… or build something into their lives. We’re not quite sure.
However, we are sure that Sibs ‘N’ Kids weekend can and should be a positive event on campus.
As we mentioned before, this weekend allows the University to advertise itself for free to the youngsters that come to visit. These kids are in awe of the entire idea of the university lifestyle. They usually can’t wait to dig right in and ‘live like a college student,’especially if they’re an upperclassman in high school.
This is the chance for the University to put its best face forward.
Give it your best shot, administration, faculty and staff.
The students on campus also have the esteemed privilege of touching this younger generation. How many of us have siblings or kids coming up to school for this weekend? Given the numbers in past years, a good number of us will hear the patter of little feet this weekend.
This gives each of us the unique opportunity to be the singular role models in these kids lives, if only for a short moment. It’s the one chance that we have to add a little bit into their lives and to encourage them in a positive direction. This doesn’t mean that we should immediately take our sibs to the bars and show them what big adults we really are.
Admittedly, it’s funny to talk about how we took our little brothers and sisters to the keggers and the bars for the entire weekend. We chuckle during the stories about how they drank like a champ, and then how much they puked.
But deep down, those students probably wish that they had done something more productive with their brother and sister than just showing off their skills at downing Jell-O shots.
And, if that isn’t their regret, certainly cleaning up the projectile vomit causes them to pause.
Our siblings usually look up to us as some sort of heroes (or demi-gods, even) that can do no wrong. Nothing drives this further from their minds than to see their big brother or sister trashed or stoned out of his or her mind and spouting cheap philosophy in a smoky atmosphere. Grow up and give them something to be proud about.
This is the siblings’ one weekend to have fun and act like they are adults. And we, as ‘real’ adults shouldn’t try to get them into as much trouble as they possibly can in two days.
Let’s face it. We want to have their starry-eyed adoration for as long as we possibly can. We want them to look up to us for the rest of their lives.
They probably won’t, but don’t ruin it too soon by stupid actions over what could be a really great weekend for all involved.
