By Explore Editor
By Liz Haughton
Unigo Campus Rep at Denison
Oct. 23, 2008
For most schools, homecoming means pep rallies, tailgates and football games. While a Denison homecoming includes all of these things, the main emphasis of homecoming is seeing those who graduated the previous year.
Denison is a very close-knit community with only about 2,000 students, so you get to know people in every year. In Denison homecoming, when homecoming weekend arrives around mid-October, all students are very excited to see the recent graduates. This reunion is highly anticipated, with everyone interested in knowing who is still dating, where people are working (or trying to work) and whether or not it is weird being back on campus. Football is not the center of homecoming — the recent alums are.
Denison plans spirited events and activities for homecoming to accommodate both the students and the alums. Since we are such a small school, homecoming begins with a spirit week to get current students fired up. The weekend is jump started with the “Homecoming Gala” on Friday night. This is something current and formers students all look forward to. The student center, Slayter, hosts this event which includes food, dancing and fun.
Alyssa Rossodivita, a junior biology major said that she looks forward to the Homecoming Gala the most.
“Not many schools are small enough to hold a homecoming dance,” she said. “Slayter is transformed into an entirely new place where current and past students can socialize.”
Saturday includes several activities including sporting events, such as football, club reunions and a cappella concerts.
Brad Williams, a senior cinema major and a member of the all-male a cappella group, the Hilltoppers, recalled his favorite part of homecoming as the Hilltoppers Reunion.
“Seventy-five alums returned since it was our 30th reunion, so it was great meeting old members and hearing stories about the past,” he said. “We held a big concert with all the alums participating and got a great crowd.”
Students pick and choose which events they want to attend, usually planning their day around where their alum friends will be.
If you are interested in the whole football scene, it is not hard to find, but most will agree that Denison’s homecoming is more about catching up with former students that have moved on from Denison.