The University hosted its annual Family Weekend on Friday and Saturday, welcoming parents and family members of students to experience life on campus.

The weekend commenced on Friday with a welcome from President Jonathan Levin ’94 and Provost Jenny Martinez in Memorial Auditorium. During a Q&A session with the two, parents asked about topics like legacy admissions and the future of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs at the University.

The discussion followed State Assembly Bill (AB) 1780, which passed in the fall, banning preferential admission practices for legacy and donor students at private institutions. The University also significantly reduced DEI information on its web pages following a series of executive orders by President Donald Trump targeting DEI initiatives.

Following Levin and Martinez’s welcome, families had the opportunity to experience student dining, where they were greeted by a note from Stanford Dining, Hospitality & Auxiliaries (SDHA) assuring them that “health, safety, and wellbeing” are “always” SDHA’s “top priorities” despite “recent media coverage of the PlasticList report.”

Family weekend featured a variety of campus activities, including lectures with professors, self-guided campus tours and student showcases. 

Anjana Vathul, mother of Aneesh Vathul ’28, told The Daily that the weekend felt special because of the opportunity to see her son’s new life at Stanford. “This is the first time we’re seeing him after he started classes. The last time we were here we just got him moved in,” she said. “So now we are able to learn from him: how he’s experiencing going to school here, how he’s doing with his courses.”

In several “Academic Discussions,” professors from departments across all disciplines presented on topics like  “What Did the Global Year of Elections Mean for Democracy: 2024 in Perspective” with political science professor Larry Diamond and “Artful Design & Artificial Intelligence: What Do We (Really) Want from It All?” with computer science professor Ge Wang. 

Family weekend concluded on Saturday with the Cardinal Student Showcase on Meyer Green, featuring performances by student groups including the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB), Stanford Taiko, Cardinal Calypso and Raagapella. 

Vathul said she “really enjoyed” the events, particularly the Academic Discussion on “Human-Centered AI.” Still, Vathul said she will most remember a student-organized dinner with her son’s friend group. “Six of his friends and their parents… we all got together for dinner and spent an evening chatting and getting to know each other. That was really nice,” she said.

Her son told The Daily the weekend felt “like a clashing of worlds” because he “always associate[d] here with no parents and home with parents.” But he found value in sharing his school life with his parents. “I really enjoyed taking them around, seeing everything [and] them meeting my friends,” he said.

Ying Collardin, mother of Lynn Collardin ’26, also appreciated spending time with her daughter. “It’s very exciting to see her, but a little bit stressful with all of the activities that she’s involved in,” Collardin said.

Because Collardin has visited two prior Family Weekends, she came primarily to see the FashionX runway show, which her daughter co-directed. “I felt [Family Weekend] was very similar, so maybe it was more targeted for freshmen. But… the first year I attended, it was very exciting,” she said.

Collardin enjoyed the weekend as a moment to get away and visit her daughter. “We are busy at work, and then for the weekend we can spend time here on campus… have coffee [and] enjoy the atmosphere,” she said.

Greg Martin, father to Alex Martin ’28, said he viewed the weekend as a chance to live “vicariously through my daughter.”

Martin most appreciated meeting his daughter’s new friends at a barbecue they organized by the lake on Friday. “We hear about them, we see them in photos, but to actually meet them for the first time is great,” he said. “It’s about the people. It’s about the quality of the people and seeing new people.”

Martin said that, to him, the weekend centered around “being with her, spending time with her, really getting a feel for her life up here.”

Dilan Gohill contributed reporting.