Spring Break
Students, alumni enjoy Homecoming despite cold weather, Rhody's loss
Whitney Tallarico
Issue date: 10/21/08 Section: News
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The University of Rhode Island Homecoming 2008 was a homecoming to remember. It all started with the wake-up calls from outside the dorms. At around 10 a.m., a group of homecoming volunteers drove around campus shouting, "Wake up Rhody!" into megaphones as the homecoming festivities began.
Sleepy students shuffled out of their dorms in Rhody attire, creating a sea of blue and white.
With activities like the five-kilometer run, the tent city, a moon-bounce set up outside of Mackal Field House and the Rhody football game, Homecoming was in full swing.
The festivities drew a crowd of at least 1,000.
The winner of this year's eighth annual Homecoming 5K Road Race was 36-year-old Jon Lawson, who came in with a time of 16:33. The two runners-up were 19-year-old Jayro Catlin with a time of 17:12, and 19-year-old Kevin Ryan with a time of 17:57.
"Alumni were everywhere, and lots of kids were jumping in the moon-bounce," said URI freshman Colleen Hurley.
The tents by Mackal Field House were filled with people from various organizations, including members of URI Greek life, ROTC and URI 101 classes, trying to raise funds.
In one of the tents, volunteers painted faces and made "ram horn" hats out of blue and white balloons.
Spirits were high, but temperatures were low. URI Rams fans still managed to fill the stands of Meade Stadium for the football game against Villanova University.
Fans cheered on their team in spite of its loss.
Freshman Adam Blacker said, "It was a fun atmosphere even though we were losing. There was a lot of team spirit."
At halftime, the winners in the Homecoming court were announced. URI's Homecoming king and queen seniors Andrew Cadorette and Rebecca "Becky" Davis took home the crowns.
When asked about what it meant to be titled URI Homecoming king, Cadorette said, "It's not just my title, but the title of everyone who collected caps for me."
URI students voted for their favorite Homecoming nominees by dropping their soda-can tabs into a five-gallon water jug.
"My family came down from Maine and took me out to dinner," Cadorette said, "Though I really just wanted to go and be with the crowd."
Overall, Cadorette said that being Homecoming king has been "a great experience."
