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11:15 a.m., July 16, 2003--Parents of incoming UD freshmen waste no time getting to the meaty questions at the “Parents Like You’’ sessions at DelaWorld. Scheduled from June 24 through July 22, DelaWorld welcomes new students to UD and provides a one-day orientation for them and their parents.

Participating in the “Parents Like You” panel on July 15 are (from left) parents Orla Mackey (mother of Evan, Class of 2006) of Wilmington; Patty Miller (mother of David, Class of 2005, and senior secretary in admissions at UD) of Elkton, Md.; Anne Biddle (mother of Rickey, Class of 2004) of Newark; and moderator Robert S. Snyder, assistant director of University relations.

Right off the bat at the July 3 session, a mother asked the panel of parents of upperclassmen exactly how much money was on their offsprings’ UD1 Flex cards accounts.

A dad asked what to do about his daughter’s nonstudent boyfriend visiting her dorm room.

The answers came fast and frank.

On how much your student needs in September

• “If you child has worked at summer jobs and saved some money, I’d start with zero,’’ said John Thackrah of Tolland, Conn. He said his son has been able to live economically on campus and can eat “like a horse” at the dining halls with his prepaid meal plan. Thackrah and his wife, Julie, put $25 on the Flex card initially so their son could do his laundry.
• Julie Thackrah said, “Our son worked every summer since he was 15 or 16. That money went into a bank account and, when it’s gone, he’s up a creek.’’
• Patty Miller of Elkton, Md., said her son worked at a drug store on Main Street, so he earned his own spending money.
• Linda Oster of Wilmington said her son and daughter both worked during the school year and paid for things she considered extra–like having a car on campus and pledging a fraternity.

On students’ significant others staying in the dorm rooms

• Robert Snyder, assistant director of University relations and panel moderator that day, said that the University’s guest policy states visitors may stay in a dorm room for no more than three consecutive nights, and only with the permission of all roommates.
• A dad on the panel told the audience that his son called him from campus flustered after the son’s roommate asked him to leave for the weekend so the roommate could play host to a girlfriend. The father told his son to go back to the room and tell the couple to go somewhere else.

Advice on moving into the dorms

• Bring enough surge suppressors to protect all your student’s electronic equipment, but remember that extension cords are not allowed in dorms.
• Try to borrow a hand truck, and pack belongings in stackable boxes because you’ll be making many trips across parking lots and grass.
• Wear comfortable shoes and dress for the heat.
• Bring 25-foot cables for your student’s television and computer.
• Conventional computers will fit on the dorm room desks. Flat-screen monitors and tower computers are not necessary, but they fit more easily.
• Your student may feel the bed springs if they don’t pack an extra-long “egg-crate” foam mattress pad.
• J.C. Penney and Bed, Bath and Beyond were the parents’ picks for best places to buy the extra-long sheets needed on dorm beds.
• Students should bring window fans and box fans to cool their rooms.
• Students should bring clip-on lamps and pole-style lamps.

On phone cards and cell phones

• Parents who live far away often give their students phone cards to stay in touch.
• Most parents said their children had cell phones, many with plans that allow free long-distance calls or unlimited calling on nights and weekends.
• One mom said she limits frivolous calls by telling her students they will pay for any cell phone costs beyond their allotted monthly minutes.

The Parents Like You panel is moderated by a rotating group of staff members, including Snyder; Sharon Dorr, director of alumni and University relations; Nancy Millard, alumni club coordinator; Bonnie Alunni, assistant director of admissions, and Marjorie Hingston, coordinator in admissions.

A rotating group of nearly 50 parents of current UD students—several of them UD staff members— volunteer their time to serve on the panels.

The panels were conceived by staff members in the DelaWorld 101 Program in the Office of Admissions and the Parents Program in the Office of University Relations in response to requests from parents of new students who wanted to hear from other parents of UD students.

Article by Kathy Canavan
Photo by Kevin Quinlan