Festivities were underway this Thursday at Santa Fe Cattle Company in Hammond Square.

Organized by the Alumni Association and Homecoming, the “Alumni Reunion Pep Rally” took place on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 5-6:30 p.m. Entering its second year, the event included a performance from the Spirit of the Southland marching band and Roomie the Lion, attending to rally participants for the upcoming Homecoming Game. The event had prizes and radio music from WHNO.

Michelle Biggs, executive director of alumni relations, spoke about the importance and addition of this event.

“This is a new event that just started last year, and it’s just a way to kick off Homecoming Reunion weekend,” Biggs stated. “Of course, from the student perspective of homecoming, there are events all week long, but, from the alumni perspective, it’s just really kicking off tonight. So, this is our way to welcome people back into town. Or if people live here, it’s a great way for them to come out and enjoy each other’s company – see former classmates that they went to school with and to celebrate Southeastern.”

For an event such as this for alumni, Biggs explained that although preparation started during the summer, planning was easy due to the coordination with Santa Fe.

“They really put together a lot of it,” Biggs stated. “We coordinated with the band and the cheerleaders, pep squads and all that. And, of course, we do a lot of the promotions and everything, but of course Santa Fe provides us with food and the bar and everything. So, really it was a relatively easy event compared to a lot of the other ones that we do.”

Through the performances by the band, the hype building by Roomie, and the raffle for Homecoming prizes, Biggs thinks that she will get a lot of positive feedback for the event.

“It’s a great way for our alumni to come back and celebrate each other,” Biggs stated. “And it’s just an opportunity to get together. You know, you have so many that come back to town and they’ll come in for tomorrow night. We have an Alumni Awards Banquet. And Saturday, of course, we have the parade and the game and tailgate. So, it’s just one more way for them to come into town and get together on a casual basis before all the big festivities start.”

As for words for the alumni as the celebrations come together, Biggs stated that the university welcomes them back.

“One of the things that we did this year was to have a message about ‘Coming Home for Homecoming’ because when you think about it, homecoming is about coming home,” Biggs stated. “And so, we just welcome everybody to come back. We hope that they have had a wonderful time and celebrating this great weekend.”