Anna Katycheva

This past windy, rainy, weekend, students had a glimmer of hope: their parents came up to visit, and alumni from past years met current students at homecoming.

“Every year McGill welcomes back thousands of graduates for homecoming. Alumni not only get the chance to reconnect with the university and each other; they also have the opportunity to attend dozens of entertaining and educational events,” read a statement on the Alumni Association website.  

Many parents and students took advantage of the weekend as a way to reunite after weeks apart.

“We came to see our daughter here at McGill,” Brad Klassen, one parent who came to McGill over the weekend, said.

“We just wanted to engage into her life, and so when she’s telling stories, we know [what] she’s talking about,” Angela Klassen, his wife, added.

The Klassens, who visited McGill from British Columbia, had not seen their daughter, Christina Klassen, U0, since she began the year at McGill in late August.

Christina Klassen added that she had several friends who were also excited to have their parents come up and visit them.

Another set of parents, the Mendelsons, said that they also enjoyed coming up and seeing how their U0 son has been doing at McGill.

“We went out on a pub crawl with our son last night, and today we went down to the Old Port,” Houston Mendelson said.

“He also introduced us to poutine,” Maggie Mendelson, his wife, added.

Even students who did not have parents coming to visit them seemed enthusiastic about the weekend.

“For students to have their parents here is a good support system,” Obed Cundangin, U0 arts student and New Rez President, said.

“All these first-years are kind of lost, and to have their parents here stabilizes them and helps them put their feet back on the ground.”

Cundangin also encouraged   his fellow New Rez students to go to homecoming last weekend.

“We’re trying to get people out, show some spirit,” he said. “It’s a precedent for the rest of the school year. If we can get people spirited now, then we can get people spirited the entire way through [the school year].”

While new students prepared for their first homecoming, many former students came back to McGill to enjoy the day as well.

“I really missed Montreal and I wanted to see some of my friends so I came [to homecoming],” Damian Burd, who graduated with an MBA with the class of 2001, said.

Burd encouraged all alumni to return to their alma mater.

“If I could,” Burd said, “I would come back every two or three years.”