It is every student’s worst nightmare. Having finally escaped from home, moved into student digs and thrown up at freshers’ fair, the last thing you need is your mum and dad strolling on to campus.
But in the German city of Münster hundreds of parents have been invited to descend on the university and check up on what their sons and daughters are doing.
The unprecedented event — entitled Elternalarm, which can be loosely translated as ”Watch out, your parents are coming” — is supposed to bring students and their parents closer together. Hotels in the town are offering parents discounts in an attempt to entice them to visit, while the city is laying on free bus travel.
As well as concerts and cultural events, parents have also been invited to sit in on lectures. They can even join their offspring for a meal in the student canteen. ”We want to show the parents that there is more to Münster than just learning,” said the university’s spokesperson, Jutta Reising. ”This is also a place where people live.”
So far 120 parents have signed up for Elternalarm in a city which has 50 000 students. The organisers are confident, however, that more will enrol once term starts in October. – Guardian Unlimited Â