<p>Hi Flipper,
We (as a family) attended last year’s family orientation and we enjoyed it very much. It was very well put together. As I recall, all of the dinners were sit down ones, but in a buffet style where you would stand in line to get your food. I would suggest for elderly people who are unable to stand for a long period, to find a table first, while one of the family members bring them food because the buffet line can be quite long. The students and their family members do meet up for their meals such as lunch and dinner. Usually their meals are served outside except for the wine and cheese reception which was held in the Argyros Forum. Not sure where they’ll have it this year since that building is in the expansion process. The wine and cheese reception was a relaxing way to end the evening, more or less for social purposes, some people were standing, but they have an area for sitting if you can find chairs available.</p>
<p>On the following day, it was well worth it to be there for the opening convocation where the faculty members were all dressed up for the ceremony and got to love that bagpipe music. And since you live close by, you have the option to leave any time and return any time especially if there are elderly involved. We also enjoyed the closing of the evening listening to the speeches and entertained by some pretty cool jokes and the history and traditions of Chapman in a candle lit ceremony.</p>
<p>There’s an older thread also from previous family orientation if you’re interested in reading. Hope this helps.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/chapman-university/730243-new-student-family-orientation.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/chapman-university/730243-new-student-family-orientation.html</a></p>