Schools join Homecoming revelry

by Lindsey McKay
The Post

While Ohio University students are gearing up for Saturday's Homecoming game, trivia games, bonfires and the country's largest Homecoming parade will entertain students at other universities.  

            The University of Toledo held a pep rally Tuesday and a bonfire yesterday as part of its weeklong celebration, said Jeff Huffman, alumni programming director for UT. The school also announced its Homecoming king and queen.

            The University of Tennessee in Knoxville does not crown a king or queen for Homecoming, said Deborah Hackney, student activities program adviser for Tennessee.

            Tennessee's Homecoming week begins Nov. 4 and features competitions among organizations, including ROTC, student organizations, religious groups, hall residents and the greek community, Hackney said. 

            Activities include decorating banners to hang on the stadium and painting the businesses' windows on "the strip," a street on campus similar to OU's Court Street, Hackney said. A soap box derby, eating contest and dance competition also are part of the week's festivities.

            A trophy will be presented to the winning organizations during halftime of the Homecoming game against Memphis Nov. 10.

            Penn State launches its Homecoming revelry Sunday, said Matt Davis, Penn State senior and Homecoming chairman. And this year the school is doing some things differently.

            For the first time, a community service day will kick off the week, Davis said. A 5 kilometer race and canned food drive will benefit local charities, and the Homecoming committee is sponsoring a "senior prom" for the community's senior citizens.

            A celebration event on Monday in the Commons, the area where most freshmen live, is another new addition to the schedule. The marching band and cheerleaders will provide spirit and give first-year students a taste of Homecoming, Davis said.

"It's a combination of information and a pep rally," he said.

Registered organizations will compete in events Tuesday. One such activity is "Nittany Pursuit," a trivia game in which students race through campus and answer questions about Penn State's history.

Unlike OU, Penn State will crown a king and queen of Homecoming Wednesday.

Afterward, groups will lip-synch during Airbands skits; OU's greek community puts on an Airbands event during Greek Week Spring Quarter.

The nation's largest Homecoming parade will take place Friday at Penn State. More than 200 registered organizations will take part, Davis said. A fireworks display, pep rally, candlelight vigil with campus choral groups and a walk to the "lion shrine," a stone statue of the school's mascot, round out Penn State's biggest day of Homecoming events.

Penn State will honor its winning organizations in a ceremony Nov. 4.