By Jennifer Goetz
Staff Writer
Smells like team spirit?
It certainly did at the College’s annual Homecoming event on Saturday, Oct. 24, which concluded this year’s Spirit Week.
Homecoming is the culmination of school pride, with current students and alumni joining together in celebration. The day was packed full of events, including the announcements of the Homecoming spirit winner and the Homecoming king and queen, as well as the highly anticipated football matchup, tailgate and MainStage performances and activities.
Several organizations on campus competed in the College’s Spirit Week activities, with each team representing a different decade. There were a number of field events, including a three-legged race and a human pyramid with judges evaluating their performances for each.
The Lip Sync and Dance Competition, held at the Recreation Center on Friday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m., was a chance for spirit teams to use their “decade” to create a lip sync skit about the Lions football team prevailing over the Montclair Red Hawks during their Homecoming game, while the dance portion utilized fresh choreography to a mix of songs with the theme of their decade.
The Lions followed through for the Homecoming game at 1 p.m., delivering a 23-20 win in an exciting matchup. In the fourth quarter, the Lions scored a touchdown, followed closely by a Red Hawks touchdown, as well. But the Lions managed to keep their lead by the end of the game to edge out the Hawks and claim their first win of the season.
At halftime, the Homecoming court walked onto the field. Senior marketing major Alex Moskal from Phi Alpha Delta fraternity and senior accounting major Alyssa Blochlinger from Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority were named Homecoming king and queen.
At the end of the game, it was announced that the spirit team winner for 2015 was Delta Phi Epsilon and Co. as they channeled the 1920s for this Homecoming’s “Decades” theme.
Saturday’s tailgate, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., was held in lots 4 and 6. This gave students and alumni the chance to mingle, eat, drink and celebrate the College’s spirit. Lot 6 was designated for alumni and guests while Lot 4 was open to all, with colored wristbands separating those who were 21-years-old and above from those under the legal drinking age.
“(Homecoming is) packed full of things to do and it’s very entertaining,” sophomore chemistry major Nigel Sequeira said.
The MainStage at the Green Hall Lawn offered free food such as cotton candy, hot chocolate, apple cider and more to the students and alumni as they participated in the various activities, including an inflatable obstacle course. There, seven student organizations put on productions for those in attendance.
Jazmine Ramirez, a sophomore art major and a member of the Rebel Art Movement on campus, volunteered to face paint. According to Ramirez, it was a “fun little event” and there was a good turnout.
Megan Young, who graduated as a communication studies major last spring, was looking forward to returning. While at the College, she was a member of the Dance Team and Sigma Kappa sorority.
“This is the first time I’ve gotten the chance to spend a decent amount of time with all of my sisters and the dance team, and basically just reconnect more than I have in the past few months,” she said. “After graduating, you feel this disconnect when you all move home and it’s a lot harder to see each other when you’re two hours away. This is the first chance we’ve really been able to reminisce and be under one roof.”
Homecoming allows alumni to see what has changed about the school while still enforcing school spirit.
“I really just love the coming together,” Young said. “Being able to experience what some of the larger schools have, the (Division) I schools, to have that sort of athletic bond, has been a really great experience.”
