When Patti Hachten moved to Eugene with her son Patrick two years ago to continue her education at the University, she knew she would have to work even harder to make time for him. Patrick, 12, had always wanted to be a Duck with his mom, so much so that Hachten began to call him her little “duckling.”
Thanks to Hachten and others, today marks the first Non-traditional Student Union Duckling Street Fair, named after Patrick and held in honor of children with student-parents.
The fair will run from noon to 4 p.m. in the EMU Amphitheater. Games and activities will be provided for children’s enjoyment and student-parents are encouraged to come pick up some information, “even if your children aren’t with you,” Hachten said.
Members of the Japanese Student Organization will be teaching children the Japanese paper art Origami at the fair. Other games and activities planned for the children include juggling, calligraphy and face painting. For the parents, tabling information and resources will be available.
Having attended the University for almost two years, Hachten first joined NSU, previously the Returning Student Association, a year ago and is now the director of the organization. Hachten, who will graduate in June, said life as a nontraditional student has meant learning to juggle priorities because, to her son, it seems like she’s always studying.
“We want to highlight the sacrifices and contributions of the children in our lives,” she said. “We want to say thank you to them.”
One unavoidable obstacle that came up in getting ready for the fair is the time frame for the event.
“Because this is our first year, the time we have set does not allow us to reach grade-school age children,” said student-parent and staff member Brenda Tuomi. “Next year we would like the widest range of age to be able to come together.”
Tuomi is the coordinator of nontraditional student programs in the Office of Student Life, a new position as of this January. She has been working with Hachten and Women’s Center coordinator Sayaka Mimura to organize the event.
“It’s exciting to take on this position because it shows the University recognizes the population of nontraditional students on campus,” Tuomi said. “We’re very excited to see what happens.”
Tuomi has two daughters, one of whom is a freshman at Portland State University. She said it tends to be a bit of a challenge to juggle classes, work and time with her family.
“No matter the age of your child, time spent on college takes away from family time and, for me, it gets even stronger as my girls grow up,” she said.
Tuomi said she sees the Duckling Fair as a great opportunity for the children to realize that “Mom always thinks about me” and for parents to be there for their kids.
The recognition and support of the large number of student-parents on campus is also important to the efforts of the event, Mimura said.
“Your classmate sitting next to you could be in the process of getting a college degree with kids,” Mimura said.
Mimura, the Women in Transition Coordinator for the ASUO Women’s Center, said although she is not a parent, she considers herself to be “very nontraditional” because she is an international returning transfer student.
In preparation for the event, Mimura has been recruiting performers and organizing tables. The Women’s Center has helped with publicity, and volunteers will be tabling and facilitating one of the games at the fair, she said.
Other groups that are sponsoring or are helping with the event include the Museum of Art, Work and Family Services, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Alliance and the International Student Association.
In the event of rain, the fair will be moved to the main lobby of the EMU.
For more information about the Ducking Fair, contact NSU at 346­4305 or Tuomi at 346­1123 in the Office of Student Life.
E-mail reporter Caron Alarab at [email protected].