Monmouth has organized a plethora of events across campus for Family Weekend 2023. Students and families will gather for activities covering a variety of interests beginning on the evening of Friday, Nov. 3, and concluding on Sunday, Nov. 5. Events are open to all students and families.
Nicole Lowden, Associate Director of Student Engagement for Transitions and Leadership said, “Attending Family Weekend is a great opportunity for family members to get a glimpse of what life is like here at Monmouth for their students. Attending athletic events, going to an SAB program, attending a workshop, being on campus, and even eating at the Dining Hall are all elements of the student experience that
families are able to take part in.”
For students wondering how else this weekend might benefit them, “It is also a great way
for students to build connections between their home and family life, with the family they have
made for themselves here at Monmouth!” Lowden said.
As far as events go, the celebratory weekend begins with Study Abroad 101 in Bey Hall
Auditorium from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. There are plenty of events in between, with a fan favorite
being tailgating. The weekend ends with Sunday Brunch in Magill Commons Dining Hall from
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fees for all events at the dining hall are $13.50 for adults (including
students without a meal plan) and $7.25 for children 11 and under. Students with meal plans can
use their meal cards for events at Magill Commons Dining Hall.
There is an event for everyone this weekend that highlights a large number of interests for
every individual at some point. Lowden said, “We have a variety of programming to fit different
interests. Family Weekend always happens during a home football game, which helps create excitement and generate school spirit with Athletics. This year, our Casino Night event, co-sponsored with Student Activities Board (SAB) is making its return to the Great Hall which is such a fun venue to host this event!”
Events students look forward to in particular are the tailgate and football game. This game will be home at Kessler Stadium with the Monmouth Hawks playing the Stony Brook Seawolves on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. The tailgating will open at 11 a.m. in the Larchwood Avenue Parking Lot. The tailgating will end at 1 p.m. when the game begins.
Tailgating is done do-it-yourself style in Larchwood Avenue Parking Lot and individuals under the age of twenty-one are prohibited to possess or consume alcohol anywhere on campus. Alcoholic beverage consumption is allowed only in designated areas on campus. This year’s tailgate will even feature a beer tent with Bradley Brew Project, a microbrewery nearby in Bradley Beach, NJ. The MU Hawks Beer Garden will feature the “1933 Great Hall IPA” and other craft beers.
Tailgating is an event that many students at Monmouth look forward to. To explain the
importance of tailgating at Monmouth University, Dean Beyer, junior communications student
said, “Tailgates at past football events have been essential to our school’s culture. Tailgating is
one of the few times a year it really feels like every student is cut from the same cloth and really
are a part of the same institution.”
Beyer added, “We all go out and have fun together, dance, talk, joke, sing, and nothing
else on campus really offers anywhere near that level of connection. I have been to 4 tailgates
now, including one for family weekend, and every time I have attended I always have had a fun-filled day. There are not many events that have the same level of school pride. Tailgates here at Monmouth offer and foster a degree of togetherness that not many other
experiences here are able to match.”
