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Frosh-cessities: 6 things I learned from Family Weekend

By: Naiyah Ambros / October 22, 2013 / No Comments /

They’ve left their care packages. Thayer Street has quieted down. We’ve survived yet another Family Weekend at Brown. As a freshman, I came into this weekend with so many open-ended questions, including: how do I prepare for this? What if they embarrass me? What do I do with them? Now that all is said and done, I must admit that the last few days were, well, pretty awesome. My fridges are stocked, my tummy is full, ~~and my pockets aren’t empty~~. Getting babied by my mom was kind of nice after a month and a half of pretending to be an adult.

Your cleaning attempts will be in vain. The first thing I heard when my parents entered my room was “I see you bothered to clean.” Wow, thanks. I guess hours of cleaning isn’t enough to ~~fool you~~ impress you, Mom. (It was probably still a good idea to hide the booze, though.)
Bring your orphaned friends along. If your family was able to make it up, you should feel very lucky; some of your friends aren’t seeing their families until Thanksgiving… or even Christmas! So, invite them to dinner, lunch, etc. They’ll appreciate being around your family, even if they are embarrassing. Besides, it’ll be easier to avoid the “have you skipped any classes” question if there’s someone else to divert the parentals’ attention. Continue Reading

Overheard at Family Weekend

By: Charlotte Bilski / October 21, 2013 / 1 Comment /

If you didn’t leave your dorm room this past weekend, you should know that many families descended upon College Hill. It was a perfect balance of surreal and awesome. Families occupied every corner of campus, leaving very little room for privacy and lots of room for eavesdropping. We sometimes forget Brown’s quintessential quirks until outsiders come to our stomping ground and acknowledge them. Here are a collection of our favorite overheard quotes from Family Weekend. If any of these were uttered by your relatives, sorry we’re not sorry. Continue Reading

PW presents ‘In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play’

By: Jacob Koffler / October 18, 2013 / No Comments /

In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play, which opens tonight at 8:00 p.m. and runs through Monday, October 21st, is on the surface a rollicking comedy—a story of sex and deceit with a good dose of physical and slapstick humor and witty retorts. However, around fifteen minutes in, you begin to realize In the Next Room is not merely a wildly entertaining, 21st-century Oscar Wilde-esque play, but a modern feminist manifesto.

Directed masterfully by Karin Nilo ’14 and written by Sarah Ruhl ’97 MFA ’01, In the Next Room is set in Victorian-era New York and follows Mrs. Givings, a woman whose husband treats female (and later male) patients for hysteria using the vibrator, and Mrs. Daldry, one of Dr. Givings patients, as they discover their sexuality and slowly take control of their bodies. Continue Reading

How not to entertain your little sibling(s) during Family Weekend

By: Meredith Bilski and Charlotte Bilski / October 18, 2013 / 1 Comment /

Full disclosure: if you can’t tell by our bylines, we’re sisters. We’re 20 months (but two grades) apart, which means that when Charlotte—now a sophomore—was a junior in high school, Meredith—now a senior—was a freshman at Brown. We hash out the dos and don’ts of entertaining your little sib during Family Weekend through the lens of our own Family Weekend experience. Take our word for it; we’ve been there, and we’ve certainly done that.

Expectations:

Meredith: I was thrilled that my younger sister Charlotte was coming to visit me during Family Weekend of my freshman year. I obviously was excited to see my parents after the most formative (not really) one-and-a-half months of my life, but I was glad my little sister was coming up to Providence, too. For one, she would push my mother—whose boundless energy is often compared to that of Bob the Builder—and my father—who wants nothing more in life than to plant himself in a used bookstore for hours on end—to meet somewhere in the middle. (I naturally hoped this “somewhere” involved good food and shopping.) Secondly, I was well aware that Charlotte, already in the trying and arduous college-search process, would be considering Brown as a potential option for herself.

TL;DR: I wanted to get her drunk. Continue Reading

How Not to be a Freshman: The one with Family Weekend

By: Luna Lovebad / October 22, 2012 / No Comments /

As a girl who considers herself to be close with her family, I was actually very excited for this past weekend. I had cleaned my room, looked up some good restaurants, and even called my parents to tell them how excited I was for their impending arrival. I was probably over-prepared for Family Weekend, but I soon realized I was extremely underprepared for my actual family.

The weekend started off well enough and was marked by an exchange of hugs, questions, and a plethora of winter clothes. Then, to my surprise, my mother revealed the Saturday she had planned: a trip to Newport that included a historic tour and play. The a capella concert I thought we could see was going to have to wait. My family piled into our Honda and soon began the journey to Newport. I knew the weekend was heading in a bad direction when my brother began to lecture us on the benefits of wrestling and my dad lost three parking spots to the more aggressive Rhode Island drivers. Tensions were running high and my mom’s overzealous attempts at keeping us all on schedule weren’t helping.

Check out the Hope Street farmers market!

By: Greg Jordan-Detamore and Jordan Hendricks / October 20, 2012 / 1 Comment /

Quick! Today may be your last chance of the semester to check out the outdoor Hope Street farmer’s market — a huge collection of local meat, seafood, produce and various other vendors such as Seven Stars Bakery. The market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the grassy area between Rochambeau and Blackstone Boulevard, until it moves to its indoor location in Pawtucket for the cold winter months.

With or without parents here this weekend, the Hope Street market is a great place to visit and is easily accessible via the 42 RIPTA bus. It’s more than a larger version of the Wriston farmer’s market Wednesdays — the market is filled with Providence locals, cute children, and animals that remind us that people outside of the age of 18-23 exist (a phenomenon known as the “College Hill Bubble”).

In case you aren’t convinced that this market is our jam, we have a few thousand words to share…

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