Homecoming is a celebration. It’s a celebration of N.C. State pride and an opportunity to enjoy being NCSU students and alumni. All you have to do is be open to having a good time.
To do that, you might: get a free T-shirt, eat free food, dance and sing to music, sing the fight song, be a little silly, drink hot chocolate or coffee and enjoy the camaraderie of friends and alumni as you watch the parade, paint your face or a banner or a storefront on Hillsborough Street, wear some beads, save a life by giving a pint of blood or typing your bone marrow, see the provost and vice chancellor for student affairs in tuxedoes and tennis shoes, eat homemade cookies, watch an outdoor movie, cheer on fellow students at the parade or pep rally, strive for the Stafford Spirit Bell by participating in the Spirit Competition or get free prizes.
You might also show some Wolfpack pride by throwing a wave in the direction of the parade grand marshal Gen. Hugh Shelton, ’63 former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. You might also have to redirect that money you’d spend on a Jimmy John’s sandwich and drink to see American Idol star Chris Daughtry at Pack Howl in Reynolds Coliseum tonight — two tickets are only $10 for students.
Five years ago at NCSU, Homecoming was just a date on the football schedule, a vote for Leader of the Pack and a banner contest sponsored by Greek Life. Then the Alumni Association took responsibility and asked our Alumni Association Student Ambassadors to lead the program. It’s our oldest tradition, dating from the ’40s, when campus elected a Homecoming queen and held a dance. Today, it’s our largest tradition, with a week of activities that offer something for everyone.
Homecoming is an opportunity for our campus community to come together, choose to be involved, make new friends and great memories that will last a lifetime. There are other schools that do homecoming well, like the University of Florida, but I’d argue that they don’t do it better, and they’ve been doing it for more than 75 years. NCSU’s Homecoming will overtake theirs. Just give it time and give it your support to get there.
Homecoming is not about whether the football team wins or loses. Of course we all hope for a win because winning is more fun and gives us bragging rights over other teams. But winning a football game doesn’t define the quality of our education or the time we spend together. When you’re an alumnus, you may not recall whether we had a winning football season, but you’ll definitely remember going to the parade with your buddies, painting a banner with your sorority sisters or seeing Chris Daughtry’s very first concert. (You can get a sneak preview of Daughtry’s album, set for Nov. 21 release, by visiting www.alumni.ncsu.edu/homecoming). Chris is a North Carolina native and Wolfpack fan, so I hope that we’ll all support his career by filling the seats at Reynolds tonight.
Each year, we hope the Pack Howl performer is someone we like. I want that as much as the next person, and so do members of the Homecoming Committee. But we also make an effort from year to year to sign artists who appeal to a variety of musical tastes. That way, we hope, you’ll come to Pack Howl at least once during your four years at NCSU. If every student attended one time, we’d gross enough money to book even bigger acts and maybe have Pack Howl in the RBC Center one day. But first, we need to fill Reynolds Coliseum. No student fees are spent on Pack Howl, and we charge for the event only because it’s a budgetary necessity. So, consider that it’ll cost you less than one night out to forge a lasting memory with your friends. Whether you’re a fan of the musict, you’re supporting the Homecoming Committee’s efforts to plan an excellent pep rally, bring national musical acts to NCSU and offer a night for students and alumni to enjoy and remember.
If you don’t find something you enjoy during Homecoming week, it’s not from lack of effort by the Homecoming Committee. A group of about 30 volunteers, busy students like yourselves, put eight months of thought and sweat equity into planning a week that offers at least one thing for everyone. And what can you do in return? Come out and enjoy it. And say thanks if you get a chance. Have a great Homecoming weekend, and if you have ideas for next year, e-mail [email protected] or, better yet, come to the meetings starting in March. In the meantime, be proud of NCSU’s Homecoming and the hard work put forth by your fellow students. There is no doubt it’s better than any of our rival schools, and when you’re an alumnus we plan for it to be the best in the country.
E-mail Brooklyn at [email protected].
