The lower level of Grand Valley State University’s Kirkhof Center resembled like a human zoo this weekend for Family Night; parents in raincoats, students with backpacks, and young kids with frosted cookies in hand traversed slowly through the crowded room. The echoes of laughing, music and shuffling feet reverberated off the high ceilings.

Booths lined the main walkway; jewelry, t-shirts and pens were on display in neat rows on top of tablecloths. At the far end by the movie theatre, the Laker for a Lifetime booth emphasized the importance of students’ involvement on campus while across the way, Emily Lonergan and Erin Pruitt, students from the Hospitality and Tourism Management program, were raising money for their trip to Florida by dishing up sno-cones for donations.

“We’ve been pretty busy,” said Pruitt as she pumped red syrup onto a mound of white shaved ice for a student. “Busier than last year for sure.”

At the Student Council for Exceptional Children’s booth, sugar cookies and frosting were available for anyone to experiment with. Kelsey Svercina, vice president of the Student Council for Exceptional Children said for her organization, which is geared toward university students interested in working with children, Family Weekend provided the perfect opportunity for them to reach out.

“This is a great opportunity for us to bring in kids,” Svercina said.

Family Weekend was sponsored by GVSU’s Office of Student Life, and most events, like the Kirkhof tables, were free to students and their families.

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