Lil’ sibs spend a weekend on campus

Taylor Titus

KentWired Video

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Lil’ sibs took over campus from Friday to Sunday for Kent’s annual Lil’ Sibs Weekend.

Around 2,000 people registered, doubling the numbers from last year’s Lil’ Sibs Weekend said Andy Sokolich, vice president of programming development for Kent Interhall Council.

Siblings took part in various activities that catered to all ages, with activities everyone could enjoy.

“We got (my cousin) to go on the big slide,” 10-year-old Allissa said. “Just waiting for the big slide, that’s the only thing on my mind right now.”

The event kicked off Friday afternoon. Friday night’s activities included a planetarium show, a dive-in movie at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, Ghost Adventures of Kent State and a magician.

“We had a magician last night,” Sokolich said. “It was a full house and absolutely fabulous.”

Siblings tie-dyed together Saturday, went to a carnival, played in their own version of Family Feud and watched a movie in the Kiva.

“I think it’s a good way for our little siblings to spend time with us and see what we do,” said Shaunaya Shelby, freshman international relations major. “It’s good for us to hang out. They don’t get to spend much time with us since we are away from home.”

SRWC was packed with about 1,700 siblings Saturday afternoon, Sokolich said. The basketball court was filled with inflatable slides, an airbrush tattoo station and a photo booth where siblings put their pictures in a Lil’ Sibs scrapbook.

“This is a lot of fun,” said 11-year-old Kate. “I got a happiness Chinese symbol tattoo. The tattoos were my favorite part.”

The events on Sunday brought siblings together at a pancake breakfast and attended a scavenger hunt afterward.

“It was a fun experience for the kids to come and have a good time,” said Ronika Johnson, junior applied communications major who participated in Lil’ Sibs Weekend with her friend’s niece and cousin. “They get acquainted with being on a college campus and being around college kids, and it’s just fun for them.”

When groups of “lil’ sibs” at SWRC were asked if they wanted to attend Kent when they were older, they all yelled the same answer:

“Yeah!”

Contact Taylor Titus at [email protected].