First Real Friday

It’s the first real Friday of the semester, with all the students here, not just the first-years.  Students are going to be happy to have a short week of class.  As much as they want to be here (or be back here), it takes a little while to get into the flow of classes and homework and studying and schedules.

The weekend is also a time to relax and let loose a little bit.  There are a number of activities on the Events Calendar as well as some Student Union activities that your students might enjoy.  There are a number of interesting and fun places to go within Winston-Salem as well, especially downtown (I highly recommend both a/perture movie theatre and also Camino Bakery across the street).

One thing we hope our students will do on the weekend is exercise good judgment and moderation, particularly in manners of their personal safety.  Our Class of ’17  first-year students just went through Orientation and heard some important information about alcohol and staying safe.  For our P ’17s (parents of the Class of 2017), I want to share a little tip about how you can potentially influence your student’s behavior this weekend in a positive way.

Call your student this afternoon.

You don’t have to talk about alcohol specifically, or remind them to be a good young man or woman.  Or even talk about alcohol at all – it can just be a friendly conversation.  My colleagues who work with campus life told a group of parents many years ago that research showed that students whose parents and family members called them on Friday tended to engage in less risky behavior than those who did not.

I cannot say with certainty why this seems to have such an impact, but my interpretation of it is that having some contact with parents and loved ones on a Friday reminds students that there are people who love them, people who are counting on them, people they don’t want to disappoint.  And then they behave with a lower degree of risky behavior.

So consider picking up the phone later today and giving your students a call.  Help give them a bump in the right direction as the weekend starts.

And for our new P ’17s who may not be aware, we encourage all of you (wherever you are) to show your support for Wake Forest every Friday by wearing black and gold, or WFU apparel.  We call them Black and Gold Fridays, and it is a tradition we would love to see our Deac families uphold.

Hope you have a great weekend!