Alumni reminisce with Mug Night and a stay in the dorms

Last updated Sat. June 6 at 10:25 p.m.

With a Bud Light truck parked in front of DuPont Hall, empty Corona cans stacked up on tables and Love Seed Mama Jump rocking the night away, the Green looked a lot different than it did in the days when they crossed it on their way to class.

But the hundreds of alumni dancing under a huge tent at Mug Night on Friday didn't seem to mind.

"This is pretty [freaking] crazy," said 2006 graduate April Coniglio. "I never thought I would see anything like this. This is what brought me back - I probably would never have come back if it were not for something like this."

The party was part of the university's three-day Forum and Reunion Weekend, designed as a way to bring alumni back to campus. Other events included a town hall meeting with university President Patrick Harker, international food fair and a keynote address by motivational speaker Pat Williams, a Delaware native and senior vice president of the Orlando Magic.

On Friday night, blue and gold spotlights illuminated the stately buildings lining the Green, lighted balloons hovered over the crowd and a large tent shielded guests from an unseasonably cold drizzle. Inside the tent, visitors to the $35-per-ticket event packed the dance floor and lined up for unlimited food and drinks.

"It's awesome," said 2006 graduate Chris Gironda. "They should have done this a few years ago."

The event was modeled after the popular Thursday night feature at Main Street's old Stone Balloon, which was torn down in 2005 and replaced with the Washington House Condominiums. It left many nostalgic for their days hanging out at "the Balloon."

"I was a huge fan - I lived there my junior and senior years," Coniglio said. "This is not the same as the Balloon, but it's nice to see old friends."

At Saturday's town hall meeting in Mitchell Hall, Harker gave a wide-ranging speech, mostly recapping changes and goals announced earlier this year.

"It's about this university being viewed as one of the great public institutions in America. That's what we want," Harker said. "That seems crazy to some people, but why not?"

The university's top priority, he said, is to build a new science and engineering building at the corner of Academy Street and Lovett Avenue. Officials said last month that the $130 million project is expected to be completed by 2013.

Harker also told alumni of the importance of the Chrysler site, which the university is in negotiations to buy.

"It is the future of the university," he said. "And I don't mean for the next 10 years or the next 20 years. It's the next 100 years of the development of the University of Delaware.

The 270-acre property, which includes Amtrak rail lines, would be used for improved transportation, faculty parking and a technology park, Harker said Saturday. He has previously indicated the site could also be used for a clinical health care campus that the university is creating though a partnership with Jefferson University.

Harker also took questions from the audience and recognized representatives from the classes of 2009, 2004, 1999, 1984 and 1959. Combined, the classes celebrating reunions donated $409,000 to the university.

The weekend's festivities included the chance for alumni to spend the night in a residence hall room for $43 per night.

Kelly Cloud and Christie Hutson, who were roommates in Russell Hall their freshman year, were checking into their room in McKean Hall on Friday afternoon.

"It seemed like a great opportunity to walk down memory lane," Cloud, a 2003 graduate, said. "It's really cool that you get to stay in the dorms again."

Joe Quigley, a 2001 graduate, came with his wife and a few friends to celebrate one of the friends' completion of graduate school. After unpacking in McKean Hall, he said that while the new residence hall is much nicer than Dickinson Hall, where he lived as a freshman, he's glad he lived in Dickinson.

"I liked the camaraderie," Quigley said. "This place is too big. It doesn't feel like you're going to hang out with anybody."

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