Stephon Mikell– Staff Writer
A recent event has brought a relatively unrivaled number of guests to campus, attracting the most amount of people to Mount Vernon since the visit of President Barack Obama last October. This year, Cornell College’s homecoming celebration celebrated its centennial year. The celebration has been annual since 1913, within two years of the first annual homecoming in a college setting in the United States.
The entire week of September 30 was dedicated to homecoming activities. Between events planned for Cornell’s alumni and those planned predominantly for current students, every day held many opportunities. While homecoming was a weeklong process for most, it began long ago for select students and staff here on the hilltop.
A six-member committee of students from several campus organizations came together beginning in January of last year. Cornell Cheerleading, Greek Council, Hall Council, Royal Purple, and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) sent representatives. Under the guidance of PAAC, these students managed a homecoming budget of over $10,000. “We wanted to have the centennial celebration be larger and more special than ever,” said Anh Tran (14). “That’s why we doubled the number of Homecoming events.” Tran acted as this year’s Homecoming chair for PAAC.
The campus was decked out in purple gear showing Cornell pride for the week. In the commons, a few talented artists: Anh Pham (16), Audrey Zanini (15), Joseph Callan (15), and Alyssa Romero (16) decorated the glass exterior to the Hilltop Café to let the students know about Homecoming events. “The new glass surfaces in the commons gave us new ways to energize [the student body]… and to get everyone into the Homecoming spirit,” Tran explained. The glass, the kiosks, and Cornell’s website expressed Cornell’s excitement about the one hundredth.
On Monday, Eyes of the World sponsored a cultural fair on the Orange Carpet. The fair featured a bamboo dance lesson and a question and answer prize giveaway. On Tuesday, Greek Council sponsored the annual Powderpuff football game. On Wednesday, Royal Purple allowed students to take pictures with Ulysses, Cornell’s mascot ram. Later that night, Greek Council sponsored the very well-attended lip sync competition. On Thursday, Greek Council pied the Homecoming court in the face and the campus decorated the local community with the color purple. That night, Royal Purple sponsored a trivia contest. On Friday, Hall Council displayed themed sheets made by each residence hall and that night was the annual pep rally.
The homecoming royalty was crowned during the pep rally. Jacob Fields (14) and Nolan Breard (14) received the most votes from the student body. “To know that people know who I am is a cool feeling,” said Fields. “I wouldn’t be able to do [as much] as I do if not for the awesome people at Cornell.”
“I was honored to be voted Queen by my fellow Cornellians,” Breard said. “It was great being able to represent Cornell as we celebrated our 100th homecoming.”
On Saturday night, over 150 students on campus headed to the Sheraton hotel in Iowa City to attend the Homecoming dance. “We decided to move to a new and [farther away] location for the one hundredth,” said Tran. In recent years, the dance has been held in the local cities of Lisbon and Solon. The theme of the dance was, fittingly, centennial, and the themed colors were gold and silver.
The current students’ events ended with the homecoming dance, but the weekend was packed with events dedicated to the returning alumni until Sunday morning. Events for the alumni ranged from a golf game to convocation to a barbecue to a ceremony of remembrance. “I was invited to attend an alumni dinner,” said Kent Schlorff (16). “And it turned out to be my favorite event of Homecoming week.”
While the events dedicated to Cornell’s alumni are mainly organized by Cornell’s alumni center, the events of Homecoming week dedicated to current students are organized and carried out by our own student organizations. By contacting PAAC beginning in the second semester, anyone can help make the next year’s Homecoming even more successful than the last.
