When students came back from fall break, the Student Government Association (SGA) kicked off this year’s homecoming activities from Oct. 16 to Oct. 19. The theme for this year was The Flight of the Future.
Starting on Oct. 16, on the newly named Nagy Commons, SGA celebrated Shadow’s birthday with cupcakes and Shadow the Hawk plushies. Students took pictures with Shadow and celebrate the many years he has been on this campus. The Pep Band also made an appearance to play “Happy Birthday” for Shadow.
On Oct. 17, Pie Oh My and Sip N’ Swirl parked near the Great Hall for students to wait in lines for free pizza and soft serve ice cream. Meanwhile, SGA gave out the 2024 homecoming t-shirts on Nagy Commons. The University football team also made an appearance to sign autographs.
On Friday Oct. 18, the Black Student Union (BSU) and SGA hosted a block party on the Residential Quad. This event included food, games, music, and a spray paint artist.
To end the week on Saturday Oct. 19, the Hawks played the Bryant University Bulldogs on a beautiful sunny day at Kessler Stadium. Many current Hawks and alumni gathered for events. SGA also added a mechanical bull, carnival games, and a psychic as the annual tailgate commenced.
That night, SGA hosted the annual bingo. Students gathered in hopes of winning prizes like a 42-inch TV, an Amazon Echo Dot, karaoke machine, and more.
This year’s homecoming and events were planned by Kelly Gonzalez, a senior business administration student, and Jackie Tamburrino, a junior political science student.
Gonzalez said, “Planning homecoming was a surreal experience, especially since it’s typically a role reserved for Student Government members. Coming from an external environment into the SGA, I felt the need to prove myself and show that I could rise to the challenge.”
Tamburrino is the current director of programming of SGA who welcomed Gonzalez onto her team. She said, “Planning Homecoming 2024 was a role I was absolutely honored to take on. Being that our university’s tradition is to cater homecoming to alumni, the Student Government Association made it a mission to implement events and activities that were tailored to the student experience. This year, my committee and I wanted to ensure we set the bar higher, especially when considering homecoming was a three-day experience.”
Gonzalez continued, “It [planning homecoming] was a fantastic opportunity to learn and grow, especially being part of such a high-profile event that everyone eagerly anticipates. Seeing the excitement and energy of the students made all the hard work worth it, and it was rewarding to know I had played a part in creating those memories.”
As many students walk through the Rebecca Stafford Student Center, they may have noticed the streamers, moons and stars, and spacemen around each corner. Tamburrino, along with twenty other students, worked together to transform the first floor. However, they faced challenges the coming days. She describes that decorations had fallen down or broken and could not be hung back up.
Tamburrino said, “As you can imagine, this situation broke my heart as it took hours for us to bring our homecoming décor to the next level. It was unfortunate that we weren’t able to bring our original decorating vision to life, however, it is not unusual to have an occurrence like that happen when you are planning an event. There will always be unforeseen problems arise when you least expect them. That was a tough but valuable lesson.”
Even though the decorations may have fallen, this year’s homecoming was as successful as it always was.
Gonzalez emphasized her experience working with Tamburrino, “[Tamburrino] truly put my ideas into a reality. Her creativity and insight made this project soar to new heights.”
“I would also like to thank the members of the Student Activities Board (SAB) and the Black Student Union (BSU) for their hard work in supporting homecoming as well. These organizations helped to bring an enhanced emphasis to the programming that was presented during homecoming this year,” concluded Tamburrino.
