Information contributed by the Department of Public Safety
Fairfield University hosted its annual Siblings Weekend from Feb. 7 through Feb. 9 where siblings of all ages came to campus and engaged in a variety of activities.
The events and activities ranged to incorporate all ages and interests, and included movie showings, laser tag and mini golf, paint nights and excursions to sports games and trampoline parks. One of the events early on Sunday afternoon was making tie-dyed t-shirts in the lower level of the John A. Barone Campus Center.
Senior Justin Wooley was there with his two younger brothers Cooper, 10, and Ismael, 6. They had spent the whole weekend at Fairfield, and expressed their favor towards the Rockin’ Jump trip and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers hockey game.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Wooley said about the tradition of Siblings Weekend.
“The last time we did it was my sophomore year,” Wooley explained, since he was abroad last year. “They loved it so much so we were looking forward to it this year.”
One of the student programmers from the Fairfield University Student Association, Nicole Dana ‘22 said, “I think it’s kind of refreshing to see potential future stags! It’s really cute to see little kids around on campus. It shows that the Fairfield community is so much bigger than it is just on campus.”
First-year student Madison Gallo and her 12 year-old sister Payton were making tie-dye shirts as their weekend together came to an end.
“She was looking forward to this weekend before I even knew I was going here,” Gallo expressed about her sister’s excitement for the annual event.
“We saw that it was a thing that happened every year and she was like ‘oh my gosh, you have to go to Fairfield,’” Gallo said.
Gallo’s sister Payton shared that she enjoyed getting to know her sister’s friends and that her favorite event was mini golf in the Dogwood Room.
Another FUSA programmer, Cailyn Fiori ‘22, expressed that she admired the inclusive atmosphere of Siblings Weekend.
“They encourage bringing people that might not actually be biological siblings, like cousins, friends from home, or any other extended family. I think that is really nice,” Fiori said.
Sophomore Dori Bartush spent the weekend with her little cousin Molly, 9.
“I think it’s awesome!,” Bartush said about the tradition. “It’s nice to be able to bond and the activities are fun.”
Bartush’s cousin joined her for Siblings Weekend last year as well. She said that her favorite event was the laser tag in the Oak Room on Friday night.
It’s not just the much younger siblings and friends that benefit from and enjoy the events of the weekend. In fact, many of the siblings that come for the weekend are high school students.
Sophomore Conor Chimel was looking forward to having his 17 year-old brother come and stay with him.
“It’s a great opportunity for him to get up here and see Fairfield, and see what it’s like to live in college for a little bit,” said Chimel.
Unfortunately Chimel’s brother had to work and couldn’t make it to campus, so he will have to try again next year. The diversity of the ages of the siblings is one of the stand out aspects of Fairfield’s version of a somewhat common college tradition.
FUSA programmer Meghan Reilly ‘21 said, “It’s siblings of all ages that come too, and there are events for all ages. So I think it’s really cool that there are 5 years old that come, but there are also 17 year-olds. It’s a great way to get everyone involved.”
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