Homecoming. A time to look back, a time to look ahead, and a time to look to the left and look to the right and do the Cha Cha Slide. No, seriously.

Homecoming weekend is supposed to be one of the biggest weekends of the year. It certainly is at other schools. And it’s such a good idea in theory: current students bonding with alumni over grades and schoolwork and career opportunities.

In addition to beer, sex and an unhealthy amount of stuffed Otto toys.

But this year, SU has decided to cut back on most of the activities that actually made Homecoming fun and created spaces for all the aforementioned networking. There won’t be a bonfire or an announcement of the Homecoming Court on the Quad, or even a performance by the band.

Actually, wait — no, there will be a performance by the band. At 9 a.m. On Saturday. Because at what better time of day could you truly appreciate the sound of drums?

But all that is beside the point. The real problem is the fact that it feels like SU may have thrown in the towel when it comes to Homecoming. Alumni outreach is clearly not effective enough to make Homecoming the stereotypically awesome event it’s supposed to be, with parades, pep rallies and barn dances.  

I can’t totally blame all the alumni for not wanting to attend. After all, I wouldn’t RSVP to a barbecue in Schine Student Center’s Panasci Lounge either. An indoor barbecue? What is that? And at the same time, I understand SU can save money by cutting back on activities that were sparsely attended in the first place. But instead of cutting back, we should be thinking of ways to resell a new and improved Homecoming to the SU community. And to that end, I have a few suggestions:

1.     Increase publicity: Posting hordes of fliers all over the trees around campus is both effective and ironic.

2.     Appeal to freshmen: They have nothing better to do.

3.     Provide free food: Not a single other activity will matter.

Most importantly, the announcement of the Homecoming Court should definitely be reinstated. After all, how can I care about my vote for king and queen if I don’t get to watch the others lose?

Alum Zac Gorman, who graduated last May, suggests there even be two separate alumni weekends. ‘There should be one for recent grads, five years or less, and one for all grads. Most recent college grads want to come back and party, while the older group just wants to reminisce about the campus.’

Gorman adds, ‘I always enjoyed Homecoming as an undergrad, but I was in a house, so I just saw the brothers who had graduated earlier. For those not in a house, I can see why Homecoming might suck.’ 

We shouldn’t give up on Homecoming. College is supposed to be the best four years of our lives, and we’re supposed to be spending all our following years still living in denial over the fact that it’s over. The importance of this weekend should not be underrated. If we let it go now, we’ll have nothing to look forward to in the future. We’ll have nothing to live for.

Personally, I plan on still getting my kicks while I can. If you want to join, come with me to the cocktail party for the Class of 1955 this weekend. I bet it’s going to get pretty wild.

Marina Charny is a senior English and textual studies and writing major. Her column appears every Thursday, and she can be reached at mcharny@syr.edu.  

 

Published on October 13, 2010 at 12:00 pm