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In 1990, Caryn Epstein woke up early on game days to tailgate outside of her friend’s apartment building at Castle Court.

This Saturday, the 1991 Syracuse University alumna relived those days. Visiting her daughter, SU freshman Ellie Epstein, Caryn arrived on campus at 7:30 a.m. to begin tailgating for the football game against Duke University. Over 30 guests assembled under her tent in the middle of Walnut Park, just down the road from where she frequented as a student.

“There’s a little bit of pressure to make it perfect,” Caryn said. “I wasn’t quite sure if this is what the parents still do, so I’m thrilled to say that they do.”

As parents streamed into campus this weekend for this year’s Family Weekend, Caryn wasn’t the only alumna to relive old times at SU. Others also experienced flashbacks to their college days while visiting their children.

SU alumna Kami Verne, who graduated in 1995, returned to campus to visit her daughter, senior Alexa Verne. Even after years of visits, some feelings never go away, Kami said. When she walks around campus with her daughter, everything comes flooding back.

“I instantly remember that feeling of walking to class, stressing out for a test or worrying about finding time for my homework,” Kami said. “That anxiety always comes back.”

Kami said some things, especially the nightlife, feel very different from her experience. There’s not as many weekend activities to choose from, she said, with fewer local bars and fraternity parties being more popular.

Still, walking near Marshall Street, Kami was excited to see the signs for bars she frequented, like Harry’s Bar and Orange Crate Brewing Company. Although Kami said the area seems less popular to her daughter and her friends compared to when she was at SU.

The plans her daughter made for Kami’s Family Weekend visit were different from the typical weekend itinerary that Kami had when she was a student. But she wanted to go everywhere and do everything her daughter typically does over the weekend. Kami joined Alexa and her friends at Orange Crate and went with them to fraternity parties on Friday and Saturday night.

Kami even went to tailgate parties hosted by the same fraternities where she spent her weekends 30 years ago. She said that, as a student, she would’ve been too tired to “party and then darty and then party again.” She made an exception for this weekend.

“I’m always looking for an excuse to go back,” Kami said.

Alex and Susan Steis, both alumni from the class of 2000, met on the fifth floor of Day Hall their freshman year at SU. Alex and Susan are now married, and their son, Aiden Steis, just started his freshman year at their alma mater.

While Aiden followed in his parents footsteps to the Orange family, they hope his Syracuse experience is different from theirs.

“This is going to be your home and this is where you’re going to become you,” Susan said. “It is where you’re going to grow up and start forming the rest of your life.”

Because they live in Virginia, Alex and Susan said they haven’t had many opportunities to show their family around the place where they met. They used Family Weekend as a chance to share their favorite Syracuse spots with Aiden and his younger brother, Austin Steis.

Their itinerary included a visit to Varsity Pizza Syracuse, a walk around Green Lakes State Park, a stop at the football game and a meal at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. Varsity Pizza was a true fan favorite among alumni like Kami, Caryn and the Steis family. Family Weekend wouldn’t be complete without a visit to their go-to restaurant.

In 1990, Syracuse University alumna Caryn Epstein woke up early to tailgate at Castle Court. Thirty years later, students still congregate here before home football games. Lily Zuckerman | Asst. Digital Editor

Walking down Marshall Street married with two kids was “surreal” for both Alex and Susan, they said.

While they love SU, it’s important to Alex and Susan that they allow their son to make the most of SU in the ways that they wish they had. Alex said he told Aiden to “do all the things I didn’t do” at the beginning of the semester.

After finding out their son had already joined four clubs in the Whitman School of Management, both Alex and Susan said they were envious of the opportunities their son had already taken advantage of.

“It’s nice to be able to pass on some of our traditions and experiences, while allowing him to carve his own path and create his own traditions going forward,” Alex said.

Like Alex and Susan, Karen Reinhard said she loves seeing the differences between her own SU experience and that of her twin sons, Max and Sam Reinhard, who are SU sophomores.

Having twins, Karen loves to see the parallels between her sons’ personalities and their different trajectories at SU. She enjoys “seeing Syracuse through their eyes,” even if sometimes her sons’ perspectives are different from hers.

Karen said she didn’t feel obligated to show her sons all of the traditions she had and places she loved at SU. The weekend was all about them.

“It’s their time now in Syracuse, I want to hear about their campus and what’s happening in their lives,” Karen said. “Sometimes I’ll share a story, but I want to hear the stories and new memories they are making at school.”

Between alumni events and programming for her sons, Karen said she returns to campus frequently. Walking across the Shaw Quadrangle and down Marshall Street with her sons feels full circle, Karen said.

When Karen was a student, she said she found comfort in spending time at Hendricks Chapel, sitting on a couch relaxing between classes or getting work done. Her sons don’t use the space the same way, she said, only making trips for an occasional coffee at People’s Place Cafe. Still, she appreciates that the university is a special place for all three of them.

Caryn feels grateful to share that same special love for SU with her daughter, Ellie. Returning to SU as a mom is like “no other feeling,” Caryn said. She can show her daughter how to navigate social life at SU and use the available resources.

Following in her mom’s footsteps, Ellie lives in Day Hall, the same dorm Caryn lived in her freshman year. SU is a gift that keeps on giving for Caryn — the alumna said she’ll “always bleed orange.” She’s happy to see other parents come back and enjoy the same traditions and places they used to at SU.

“Standing here on Walnut, dressed in orange is what I’ve always done, I’m glad it’s still a thing, that the parents come out and do this and show their school spirit,” Caryn said.

Published on September 29, 2025 at 11:16 pm
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