It is now finally October! The weather is cooling off, the semester is half over, Fanfare is off the ground and one of the most exciting games in all of college football is on its way. I’m speaking of Homecoming, of course! Unlike my high school Homecoming, there is so much more to it than football. Southeastern’s organizations have devised a cornucopia of fun and exciting events all culminating into a single glorious moment of Lions football fan nirvana. I can’t wait for the crowds, the food, the cheering, the hopefully chilly weather… To me that sounds like a great day. But please, for the love of God, leave your vuvuzela at home!
I apologize if I come across as annoyingly excited. I missed out on last year’s Homecoming due to a case of freshman shyness; this year will be my first college Homecoming. I cannot stress enough that college is the time in your life where it is absolutely acceptable to go crazy. If you want to get up and dance, well, like the song says, “You can dance if you want to,” even if you dance like a drunk loon. If you want to sing, even if your voice sounds like a cheese grater on glass, go for it! If you want to stand on the top level of the parking garage and profess your love of, well, whatever it is that you love most to the world, do it!
Homecoming provides you with the opportunities to do all of these things and so much more! Before I go further, I would like to ask that everyone not go too crazy. Please obey all state and federal laws and all university policies in their pursuit of an epic Homecoming. You can’t enjoy yourself with a broken arm or while you’re in jail. I mentioned earlier that campus groups such as Campus Activities Board and the Office of Leadership development and Student Activities are organizing events. Let’s talk about some of of these awesome events I keep going on about.
The Homecoming parade seems like a great place to start. It will be on Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. I love parades; everyone does. Now I know it won’t be as grand or “flamboyant” as Mardi Gras, but it will definitely be a spectacle.
Gumbo Ya Ya is another big event for Homecoming and arguably the best. It’s free gumbo. Enough said. If you don’t like gumbo, especially if it’s free, well then I’m afraid we are no longer friends. You’d be crazy not to go to this.
The night after that is the bonfire over by the University Center. Bonfires are a chance for every student to mingle around a giant pillar of fire; it sounds dangerous, but that just adds to the excitement! But seriously, I hear it’s going to be a blast. Hopefully, if they do end up canceling it this year due to weather, it will actually rain!
I heard that Fear Factor has been replaced by “Minute to Win It” or something like that. I hope this change of name will have no effect on the actual goings-on of the event! I don’t know what it is about watching somebody eat a peanut butter, jelly, tuna fish and mayo sandwich that is so entertaining. Perhaps it’s that sickly falling sensation you get in your stomach and that thought in the back of your head that says, “I’m glad that isn’t me.”
These events are only a small drop in the bucket; there will be many many more things to do until the match against McNeese. Plus, this is my first Homecoming, so this editorial is by no means a complete list of events. I hope that this editorial succeeds in encouraging you to shirk off the shyness and have some fun, not just with Homecoming Week, but with your entire college experience!
This is the time in your life when you will have the most freedom you will ever have, so become involved, get out there and have some damn fun! When you graduate, you have to support yourself, deal with the real “real world” and more than likely contend with student loans.
Live it up, as I always say! Enjoy today while you can because life becomes infinitely more complicated after you graduate. McNeese, good luck out on that field, you’re going to need it! GO LIONS!