Quincy University hosted their family weekend for its students right before Halloween. 

The weekend allowed time for students to be able to show parents around their stomping grounds while the school kept things festive around campus. 

It was a nice surprise for many students, as current students have either forgotten the tradition, or never realized the school has hosted this since COVID-19 has taken place. Senior, Antonio Medrano thought it meant a lot to have meaningful time with family. 

“I really like how Quincy made up their weekend for this. The events all look good and my parents are excited to look at other things around campus. They live close, but this weekend made them feel relaxed and never felt rushed on how long they could stay,” Medrano said. 

The weekend kicked off Friday, Oct. 28 with a bingo competition and tailgate before volleyball’s cancer awareness game against Rockhurst University. 

The night included lots of pizza, candy, and screaming from the contestants, as bingo winners were given brand new QU gear, and the biggest winner coming home with a $150 gift card from The Abbey. 

Saturday kept the weekend strong with a morning tailgate outside of The Rock to get prepped for the QU football game against Truman State. Senior, Brendan Fahey explained his parent’s surprise to the updates on campus.

“My parents went to school here in the 80’s, so I think their biggest surprise was seeing the renovated tailgate lot. All they knew their whole time here was unfinished gravel, they saw the lot this morning and asked me “when did you guys get to have so much luck”,” Fahey said. 

The football game led right into the women’s volleyball senior night game at 3pm against Southwest Baptist University.

Families had two main options in the evening. QU hosted a Family Feud game night in the Hall of Fame room, making families come together for a chance at great prizes. Families also had the option to check out the Haunted House over at North Campus. Hosted by the CEO club, the group has been in preparation for the past two weeks, and really hopeful the tradition catches on once again. 

Sunday began to wrap up festivities with more relaxing activities, starting with a 10 a.m. morning mass in Francis Hall for families that were interested. Guests also had an opportunity to check out tje student music recital hosted in the Connie Nieman Center.

The evening ended with the school’s annual Halloween With The Hawks, where the athletes of QU come out to host games to win candy and prizes for the Quincy locals. The event is always a top one for athletes and seniors like Nick Martelli share why it meant more this year. 

“I’ve always told my parents about Halloween With The Hawks, but I don’t think they understood how big it was for us until they saw all the happy kids in costumes. It makes them feel better knowing the student body is connecting with town instead of staying secluded,” Martelli said.

Overall, students and parents had many options to check more out on campus and show relatives around the golden spots of Quincy. Whether students participated or not, it’s always a great day to spend quality time with your family.