For nearly all of the students who attended the events that morning, they thought that WPI had done a great job. Harrington was transformed so well, that a senior remarked, "Plant Services did an amazing job, it didn't look anything like an auditorium!" Many students were also impressed by the preparations made by DAKA for these events. Well organized and amazing were also used a lot in their descriptions of the event. Just about every student that left Harrington left smiling, and quite often with a picture or two signed by the astronauts.
Although the mood was high, some students thought that a few things could have been done differently. Many expected a lot more high school and junior high students there, while their small turnout may have been in part due to the weather. One student thought that it was a bit of a big deal for just nine people. Others had grown tired of hearing about the astronauts so often, and simply weren't interested anymore. These students, however, were the exception to the rule.
The event had a big emotional impact on some students. While watching the movie of the mission, during the liftoff, a sophomore stated, "my whole body went numb, I had a tear in my eye." Doug Thomspon of the IMC compiled a movie showing clips of the most exciting parts of the STS-73 mission, set to appropriately fantasic music. At around 3:45pm, when the event was winding down, I asked someone who had dreams of going into space what she thought of the visit. She replied, "I've been here since 10:30am - its awesome! I was up all night studying, kicking walls... and then today I remembered why I was here."
In the students' opinion, the astronaut visit was a great success. The visit inspired and amazed members of the WPI community as well as those middle- and high school students who participated in the educational downlink from the shuttle. Many students were impressed at how WPI used it's resources - Lens and Lights, the IMC, Stage Band, and the others. Despite the weather, WPI showcased itself well. For such an event that was long coming, it was worth the wait.