Spring Break
Get fired up for Homecoming '08
Issue date: 10/15/08 Section: Editorial/Opinion
10/15/08 - It's that time of year again, and I'm not talking about midterms. Homecoming is here, and this year it's a whole week full of festivities. From the three-stage Battle of the Bands extravaganza to the bonfire and fireworks behind Mackal Field House, this year is bound to be one of the better Homecomings in recent memory.
For freshmen, it's the ultimate step up from the ol' school dance - some high schools had "the big game" followed by a traditional night of dancing, while others were rampant with school colors and painted faces for a week.
Homecoming marks a major transition into Rhody fanship for many, as they will get a taste of the upcoming URI basketball season, the pride on the football field under new leadership and of course, Rhody the Ram.
This is also the last chance for seniors to get a grasp on what means the most to them - friends and URI family - and celebrate for one last time what it means to be a true Rhody fan en masse.
With so many important changes occurring in the world, it's important now more than ever to unite as a campus. It seems almost unimportant that URI is a dry campus for Homecoming weekend, as has been an issue in years past. It's no secret that the tradition of Homecoming was once intertwined with alcohol, it's hard for students to see how they can still experience the greatness of such a tradition without that element. Alumni, faculty and student attendance started to decline after URI "went dry," and the university lost a certain fervor that it once held so tightly.
But the campus is finally bouncing back.
Last year, one tailgater told the Cigar that Homecoming was the best it'd been in five years. That was just one weekend.
With Rhody the Ram's makeover, a branding initiative, a new football coach and the heavy anticipation for the upcoming URI basketball season, it only seems appropriate that the Student Alumni Association and assisting groups would expand this year's Homecoming to its maximum potential.
Every student group is involved one way or another. The URI Greek community is having its Student Organization Banner Competition for the second year in a row, sporting a Superheroes theme.
It's all about one thing: Rhody Pride. Schools like Duke University and Pennsylvania State University have rallies with thousands of tailgaters - students, faculty and alumni alike - but Saturday is URI's turn to flood the stands.
For freshmen, it's the ultimate step up from the ol' school dance - some high schools had "the big game" followed by a traditional night of dancing, while others were rampant with school colors and painted faces for a week.
Homecoming marks a major transition into Rhody fanship for many, as they will get a taste of the upcoming URI basketball season, the pride on the football field under new leadership and of course, Rhody the Ram.
This is also the last chance for seniors to get a grasp on what means the most to them - friends and URI family - and celebrate for one last time what it means to be a true Rhody fan en masse.
With so many important changes occurring in the world, it's important now more than ever to unite as a campus. It seems almost unimportant that URI is a dry campus for Homecoming weekend, as has been an issue in years past. It's no secret that the tradition of Homecoming was once intertwined with alcohol, it's hard for students to see how they can still experience the greatness of such a tradition without that element. Alumni, faculty and student attendance started to decline after URI "went dry," and the university lost a certain fervor that it once held so tightly.
But the campus is finally bouncing back.
Last year, one tailgater told the Cigar that Homecoming was the best it'd been in five years. That was just one weekend.
With Rhody the Ram's makeover, a branding initiative, a new football coach and the heavy anticipation for the upcoming URI basketball season, it only seems appropriate that the Student Alumni Association and assisting groups would expand this year's Homecoming to its maximum potential.
Every student group is involved one way or another. The URI Greek community is having its Student Organization Banner Competition for the second year in a row, sporting a Superheroes theme.
It's all about one thing: Rhody Pride. Schools like Duke University and Pennsylvania State University have rallies with thousands of tailgaters - students, faculty and alumni alike - but Saturday is URI's turn to flood the stands.
