UWRF hosts Little Siblings Weekend

The UW-River Falls’ Residence Hall Association hosted the first campus Little Siblings weekend April 16-18 with around 170 registered participants attending, according to an event organizer.

Justina Deering, the program director for the RHA, said the committee had been planning the event for months, and was pleased with the outcome.

She also said the event could continue annually with the association on campus.

“By Sunday the kids were very tired, a good sign they had fun,” she said. “The Residence Life staff was very pleased along with the Residence Hall Association We are very excited to keep this a tradition in the coming years.”

Events were planned throughout most of the weekend, starting April 16 and ending April 18. Starting out in the evening of April 16, the Little Siblings Weekend participants enjoyed tie dye shirt making, a movie and a dance at the Falcon’s nest.

There were many events planned throughout the day April 17, which began with a brunch at the University Center’s Riverside Commons.

After that, a movie shown in the Kinni Theatre, campus tours, a Health and Human Performance clinic, a carnival in the mall, a Chem Demons demonstration, dinner at the River Side Commons and a bonfire were planned as Little Siblings Weekend activities.

Little siblings Weekend ended April 18, with a brunch in the University Center ballroom.

Student Hannah Mrotek, who was one of the students in attendance at little siblings weekend, brought her little siblings Ben Buchman and Carley Ruid.

“It is pretty good,” she said of the weekend. “We went to the dance, and this morning went to breakfast.”

The siblings also commented on why they liked the campus at UWRF.

“It is nice to get out and walk around,” Buchman said.

Deering said the idea for Little Siblings Weekend came from other universities that had tried the idea out in the past.

“Tracy Gerth, the advisor for RHA, brought the idea over from schools she has worked at in the past,” she said. “All I knew was that siblings of students who lived in the residence halls came to campus; the rest we built from scratch.”

Deering also said that the idea had come from student comments, who wanted a chance to show a college campus to their younger siblings.

“Many people have commented on the event saying that their sibling(s) still haven’t seen campus,” she said. “This is just an opportunity to hang out with your ‘siblings’ and do activities with them that everyone will enjoy.”

Once the committee decided that they were going to do a little siblings weekend, they were easily able to determine what the objective of the weekend was going to be.

“All we want is for the residents of the halls to be able to bring their little sibling to campus and show them what our campus is like,” she said.

Deering also said that Little Siblings Weekend was not limited to those directly related to a student. The event was also open to “cousins, neighbors and younger friends older than eight.”