Inviting parents to join college students in taking classes, sleeping in dorms and doing Jell-O shots may sound crazy, but four Drexel students did just that in front of TV cameras last spring.
Back on Campus, an ABC Family reality TV show, features four Drexel University undergraduates living, studying and partying with their parents.
The program was filmed last year, and the first of eight episodes aired on Saturday.
Producers chose Drexel because its class schedule allowed filming to begin in March and because it offers a diverse student body and an urban setting, co-executive producer Brian Richardson said.
Parents "found out just how difficult it can be" and sometimes made the same mistakes typical students would, he said.
Larry Epstein, assistant dean of Drexel's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design, said that he thought the show would be a positive experience "given that it would be on ABC Family and not on a channel that was going to set it up to look like an adult theme park."
At a campus screening of the first two episodes last Thursday, student cast member Julie Ciccarone watched her mother Charlene drink until she was sick.
"It was just funny how they embellish it so much," Julie said.
Kevin Seborg participated with his daughter Susan, then a sophomore, and said that, while learning to live with three women proved challenging, he enjoyed Drexel's academic offerings.
"Being 42, I probably got more out of [college] than I would have if I'd attended when I was 21, mainly because you appreciate learning new things," said Kevin, who originally attended a two-year community college.
While having a posse of cameramen around seemed awkward at first, after two or three days "you learn to adjust and basically you don't care," he added.
Filming on campus received mixed reviews, cast members said, from students who viewed it as disruptive or who avoided the limelight to those who acted dramatically or rudely to win attention.
However, they said such behavior mostly occurred outside the classroom or off campus.
Susan Seborg said she was surprised that the show required the students to participate in new activities, which often interfered with her classes and lacrosse practices.
"It was fun, but for me it was very stressful because I did have to juggle so much at that time," she said, though "going out of it, there's more positive than negative, and, for me, it was something that I needed."
Parents attended some classes with their children and others on their own, but cameras were only allowed in class with proferssors' permission, Epstein said.
The three cast members and Epstein said they have only heard positive reactions to the episodes thus far.
Susan Seborg was impressed by the editing, which had to carefully eliminate any shots of her or student participant Phil Marino Jr. drinking, as they were both underage at the time. Editors did not include frivolous arguments, she added.
"They did a good job at editing out the stuff that wasn't important," she said. "Everything in there was funny or it added importance or weight to the show."
Though the show tried to entertain, it offered a fairly accurate view of campus life and the cast members' relationships, Kevin Seborg said.
Ciccarone and the Seborgs noted that they were all portrayed to fill specific roles, such as the absent-minded but loving father, the dorky athlete frustrated with her dad or the party girl.
Ciccarone -- who graduated last June -- said her relationship with her mother was misrepresented as weak.
"We'll always argue. We're mother and daughter, but we're very close," she said.
However, the Seborgs appreciated the chance to improve their bond.
After the show, "my dad kind of understood my lifestyle a little bit better and understood that when I'd say I'm really busy, I really am, or when I get distressed or sappy, it's because I have a lot of work," Susan said.
