GW families reunited with students during the annual Family Weekend for activities including lectures, October Fest and some Motown magic.
Some parents who arrived Friday afternoon attended a presentation on GW’s history in the Gelman Library Memorabilia Room and learned Japanese printmaking in Lisner Auditorium.
Parents and students grooved to the Four Tops’ tunes Saturday night in a packed Lisner Auditorium.
Led by front-man Levi Stubbs, Jr., The Four Tops played a medley of crowd favorites, including “Baby, I Need Your Lovin'” and “Shake Me, Wake Me,” in a performance dedicated to Top Lawrence Payton, who recently passed away.
GW families also encountered a bit of history. Bob Woodward, who uncovered the Watergate scandal and is the assistant managing editor of The Washington Post, spoke in Lisner Auditorium Saturday morning.
Woodward discussed many subjects, including America’s economic prosperity and President Clinton’s success as a politician.
Clinton’s charismatic personality and “ability to make you feel as if you’re the most brilliant person in the world” are major reasons for his political achievements, Woodward said.
“He answers all your questions in paragraph form and maintains impeccable eye contact,” Woodward said. “When you get home and begin to transcribe your recorded interview, you realize that all his answers are gibberish and B.S.”
Woodward discussed pervasive problems in the news media, including reporters’ tendency to compare unrelated events.
“Any comparison you make between the Lewinsky scandal and Watergate would be poor at best,” Woodward said. “One was a major state-involving event, the other a personal affair by a sleazebag.”
Students and parents took advantage of the warm weather Saturday to visit the Mount Vernon campus during the annual October Fest, which featured late-afternoon hay rides, pumpkin carving, cider and live music.
“It’s great that Mount Vernon students get involved with something like parents’ weekend,” freshman Mike Drootin said. “This is my first time over here, and I think it’s great.”
After all the weekend’s events, some students just were happy to have their parents in town.
“The weekend was good,” freshman Vyia Tsantilis said. “I got to see my mommy.”
