By Jenna Duncan
Huskies, don your whiskers.
Homecoming hits Northeastern this week, with activities ranging from concerts to free stoner flicks to football games, all aimed at raising school spirit.
The week got off to a rocking start this Monday with PIKEtoberfest, a concert held in Centennial Common that included giveaways, voter registration and numerous other student tables and activities.
The concert was the first activities taking place through Saturday, with the week officially ending Sunday after the volleyball and women’s soccer games, both against University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Events like Meet the Court, where students were introduced to prospective Homecoming kings and queens and the chance to meet the candidates for the Mayor of Huntington Avenue have taken place earlier this week.
Upcoming events include a pep rally tonight at 6:30 in the freshman quad, an Evening with Jon Stewart in Matthews Arena on Friday and a Homecoming Carnival on Centennial Commons, Parade through the Northeastern campus and football game on Saturday.
“This year the committee has a much closer tie to the athletics,” said Christopher Burdge, Homecoming committee co-chair. “I think that for the pep rally there will be a better coordination between sporting events and other student groups.”
The strong affiliation shows the recent increase in interest and support of athletics teams, most notably because of the success of both the men’s hockey and basketball teams.
By seeing the teams’ success, Burdge said he believes an increase in school spirit has followed.
“Student pride in Northeastern is a big part of spirit moving forward and athletic support moving forward,” Burdge said. “Over the last few years there’s been a large increase in homecoming events. Last year hit max capacity at Meet the Court and I think we’ll do it again.”
Meet the Court on Tuesday night allowed students to get to know the homecoming court. The twelve nominees will introduced themselves, partake in a debate and perform karaoke.
However, some candidates said they took it more seriously than the events lead on.
The Resident Student Association endorsed nominee for Homecoming Queen, Savannah Rose, a junior marketing major, said this would be her top accomplishment for the year.
“I think [being Homecoming Queen] is going to be a really good experience and I want to be a role model for other students,” Rose said. “I think I’ve had a really great experience here and I’d love to share it with others and promote good school spirit. I know I can do a lot since I’m still a junior and will be around next year.”
The largest of the school events will take place Saturday. The Homecoming Carnival, which is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., is scheduled to coincide with the Homecoming Parade that begins at 10 a.m. on St. Stephen Street. This is followed by the football game at Parsons Field at noon.
By having so many events easily accessible on campus, Burdge said he hopes there will be a large turnout.
“I expect to see a lot of people for the carnival and parade,” Burdge said. “It normally ends up raining for the parade, but we hope to increase turnout with the better weather.”
