Marquette Chicago-area sendoff event exceeds capacity, moved to Bears' stadium
The summer send-off for incoming Marquette students in the Chicago area had to be held in Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears, because of capacity concerns.
Each summer, Marquette alumni host summer send-off events in their homes for local freshmen. Chicago’s sendoff had to be moved from the home of alumnus Dan Masterson to Soldier Field after over 1,500 students asked to attend.
“We’re proud of our efforts to limit the share of Chicago-area students in this class to a mere 65 percent,” admissions counselor Callie Henderson said.
Traffic on South Lake Shore Drive was backed up for miles as Marquette students poured into the stadium during rush hour. Once there, they moved all around the stadium’s lower bowl to mingle, which made for the most active, engaged crowd Soldier Field has seen in years.
“College is already so insane,” said John Nagle, a resident of Evanston, Illinois. “You meet so many kinds of students from all over the place. Just tonight, I made friends with people from Naperville and Orland Park.”
“Meeting the folks from Milwaukee is gonna be like visiting a whole other country, I bet,” Nagle added.
At the event, Masterson spoke to the assembled students over the stadium’s public address system, imploring them to be unique. “There is no such thing as a typical Marquette student,” Masterson said. “You must each choose the churchgoing, upper middle class lifestyle that’s right for you.”
Area drivers are being advised to take extra precautions on August 23, as every Chicago-area Marquette student will be trying to drive to Milwaukee that day.
