The BackPack

Wednesday, October 1, 2003

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED FOR FAMILY WEEKEND!!

Family Weekend is a month away and final preparations are now underway. A big part of the success of Family Weekend are our parent volunteers. This year we need volunteers to assist with the booth in the University Union Building handing out tickets purchased in advance for the weekend's activities. This is also a great way to meet other parents. Most of our officers and committee chairs got "their start with the Parent's Association" by volunteering during Family Weekend.

NAUPA provides volunteers for the ticket distribution booth Friday afternoon and Saturday. On Friday we would need volunteers from 2:00pm through 8:00pm; and from 8:00am through 2:00pm on Saturday. If you would be willing to volunteer an hour or more of time, please send an e-mail to Bruce Vacey at
the-vaceys@cox.net. Please send Bruce the times you are available to volunteer, with alternatives if possible. He will send out a schedule to volunteers by October 24, 2003. The work is very easy and affords you the opportunity to meet and greet many NAU families as you distribute pre-purchased family weekend tickets. Thank you in advance for your continued support.

Jay Leno

Jay Leno is coming to the NAU Skydome during Family Weekend, performing on Halloween night, October 31st. Tickets are regularly priced at $45.00 $38.00 $36.00 but NAUPA members are offered a $6 discount per ticket. To purchase discounted tickets, call the box office at 1-888-520-7214 with the Family Weekend password, which is "Lumberjacks". A limited number of discounted tickets are available. Regular price tickets are available through the Central Ticket Office at 928-523-5661.

This week in sports:

Thursday, 10/2 Volleyball hosts Montana at 7 p.m. Also on Thursday Women's Tennis plays host to the Sedona Challenge all day long. Then on Saturday, 10/4 Volleyball hosts Montana State 7 p.m.

Homecoming is Coming

It's less than one month out from NAU's 79th annual Homecoming, "Aloha NAU," and the alumni office has started living the part. Of course their media-drenched minds tend to stray toward popular renditions of Hawaiian culture. Consider, for instance, the "Hawaii Five-O" influence:

Special Events Staffer: "We got the DuBois Center for our casino night and silent auction."
Supervisor: "Book 'em, Dano."Then there are reunions, a la "Lilo and Stitch":Reunion Coordinator: "Ohana means family. No alumni family gets left behind."And finally, our little tribute to Don Ho:Puzzled Catering Taster: "These bubbles aren't tiny enough."But whether your cup of poi is Michener or blue Elvis, hula back to campus for the lumberjack luau of a lifetime! For further info on Homecoming events, call 888-628-2586 toll-free, or check out the event schedule at http://www.naualumni.com /Events/EventsMain.cfm.

Volunteers Needed

If you will be in Flagstaff Saturday, October 4, and would like to volunteer between 8 am and 1 pm, the University would like some help from parents for the OCID (On Campus Information Day). Please contact Charlene Mann at Charlene.Mann@nau.edu for more details.

Fun Halloween Ideas

With Halloween right around the corner there are many options afforded to students who want to celebrate it. If your student has a house or apartment, or their dorm is importing neighborhood kids to trick or treat they'll soon find out candy can get expensive quickly. A little tip to save some cash: have them head over to Greenbacks, the dollar store near Safeway off of Milton. It has tons of good candy for very cheap as well as all sorts of decorations if your student is so inclined to get festive!

Here is our first student-related story from you parents!

I couldn't resist sharing this story- it was priceless! :) Debbie.

My son is a freshman at NAU, and, during the second week of school, he was invited to a "prospective pledge" party for a fraternity he was interested in. He called me early one Saturday morning and told me he was on his way to shop for some "dress clothes" for an "important" party. (He had not taken any dress clothes up to school.) So- he asked if I could help him. I said I would, but it would be a little hard since he was in Flagstaff, I was in Phoenix and the party was that evening. He assured me everything would be fine- he had free weekend minutes on his cell phone and I could just stay on the line and help him pick out some clothes. So- for the next hour we shopped together- over the phone! He picked out two shirts and matching ties, socks, 2 pairs of pants and a belt. I helped with the colors and sizes. We even conversed while he tried the clothes on in the dressing room! It was a lot of fun and so nice to know that he wanted my help. I guess his choices worked out well. He apparently looked great and was asked to join the fraternity he liked that weekend!

Thank you very much to Debbie for submitting that story. Please send in your submissions for future issues at parents@nau.edu.

Also, make sure to check out our Parents Association website at www.nau.edu/parents. You can find all sorts of information ranging from contact numbers for all officers to even a young and growing archive of the BackPack, this wonderful email! So check it out and let us know what you think at parents@nau.edu!

Museum of Northern Arizona will be hosting its annual MNA Open House on Sunday, October 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to the Museum's exhibit building will be free all day. The Museum will be hosting a Book Fair as well as other fun activities. For more information click here!

P.O. Box 4082
Flagstaff, AZ 86011-4082
1-888-MORE-NAU ext. 36267
Parent.Association@nau.edu