It’s time for a pop quiz. Please name last year’s Homecoming king and queen.
If you got one of those dumfounded President Bush looks, you’re not alone. Homecoming at NU is about students coming together to celebrate their school spirit. So naturally, most everyone stays home and plays Asshole. You can’t blame them, Homecoming is a disenchanting affair, the centerpiece of which is a football game involving our relentlessly mediocre Huskies against William ‘ Mary in the purgatory known as Parsons Field.
On Tuesday night, representatives from CUP held a meeting in the Curry Student Center to ensure this year would be different and Homecoming would be the best ever (which is kind of like saying ‘Son-in-Law’ was the best Pauly Shore movie ever, but hey, their intentions are good).
Part of the Homecoming overhaul this past spring was the appointment of former CUP president Tom Kneafsey to Homecoming chair, a new position designed specifically to make Homecoming into a legitimate event. Kneafsey has not been blessed with an enviable job: to keep the week-long attention of a campus known for its apathy.
His first order of business should be to get the word out on campus events, and if Tuesday night’s open meeting was any indication, with a whopping total of eight participants, the October festivities aren’t exactly receiving Revenge of the Sith-like hype.
Of the eight in attendance Tuesday night, eight were members of one student group or another. CUP’s biggest challenge will be to find the average, uninvolved student, and advertise the hell out of Homecoming with e-mails, flyers, even guys on stilts. Whatever it takes to ensure that people show up.
Second, make sure the events are actually worth it. When Lewis Black declared himself a “bitter, angry prick” before a sold out crowd at Blackman, it revealed that a solid act will net a solid audience. And while it’s not CUP’s fault the NU Day parade last fall met stiff competition from the weather and the Red Sox victory celebration, surely they could have thought up a better contingency than a “display competition” in front of Snell Library.
The early agenda for the 2005 Homecoming shows little to suggest it will improve on last year, with such highlights including the triumphant return of the Mayor of Huntington contest and bringing a live Husky dog to campus. Not exactly U2 at the Fleet Center – or Moby at Matthews Arena, for that matter.
With Homecoming still months away, there’s still time to set up a memorable week. One would hope NU will finally snap their futility streak and plan a Homecoming that can be enjoyed by everyone. That would truly be a cause for celebration. Perhaps, we can throw a parade, or at least a display competition.
