Chris Banyas
Staff Writer
The first recorded homecoming at ISU was held in 1930. Although some events have been changed, the reason for the events has not changed.
Homecoming week offers students a chance to not only network with fellow students and strengthen the community but to connect with past traditions.
“There are so many activities that the students and the alumni participate in together, I think it’s a really cool thing for today’s students to be able to see and interact with people who have been where the students are now,” said K.C. Felt, executive director of alumni relations at ISU.
Before there were powderpuff football matches and dance competitions, homecoming was centered mainly around the homecoming dance, parade and football game.
The homecoming dance was a big deal back in the day. In 1962, the dance was played by Duke Ellington, and drew over 3,000 students, faculty and alumni.
A royalty event and a football game have been a part of every homecoming.
The door painting competition has also been around, in one form or another, for a very long time. Window displays were completed prior to door displays and, even before that, lawn displays.
“They also had lawn displays in front of buildings and Greek organizations for their houses. If the theme was ‘Flower Drum Song,’ they would do something in front of their residence hall or fraternity or sorority house that depicted the Homecoming theme,” said Felt.
The homecoming parade has remained much the same throughout the years, following primarily the same path every year.
In years past, these events were dubbed noise parades.
The bonfire celebration is fairly recent. While in the past, stacks of pallets were burned, this year the wood will be in the shape of the letters UND, representing our opponent, the University of North Dakota, in the football game.
Today there are many more events that are aimed at the students, and organized by the students.
Events such as the Spirit Log Hunt, Blazin’ Challenge, and Skittles Tasting Contest will be filled out by contestants hailing from various clubs.
This is a perfect opportunity for students to check out what these clubs have to offer, and whether the groups can tell the difference between Strawberry Starfruit and Plain Jane Strawberry flavored candies.
While all of the homecoming events welcome Bengals of any era, these events are a great opportunity for students to meet new people and have fun doing it.
For a full list of events, visit www.isu.edu/homecoming.
