Home / Fall 2014 / VSU homecoming starts off with a bang, not a fizzle

VSU homecoming starts off with a bang, not a fizzle

Written By: Tatyana Phelps

Homecoming Week is in full swing, and the campus is ablaze with festivities as the VSU community engages in one of the biggest celebrations of the school year.

“Homecoming is a highlight, one of the key highlights of a fall semester,” SGA President Tyler Barker said. “It’s simply a time to celebrate Blazer pride as a whole through a week of events that are geared toward students, faculty, staff, the community and alumni.”

Homecoming week kicked off with VSU’s first ever “Homecoming Ball,” planned and hosted by the Lambda Phi chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, Inc., on Oct. 19. Students were encouraged to come dressed in their best, including tuxedos and gowns. The ball began at 9 p.m. and ended at 1 a.m.

Several other campus organizations have activities planned for each day of Homecoming week. On Monday, SGA put on the first annual carnival, which included games, food, rock climbing, music, an inflatable slide and more.

On Tuesday, Housing headed up a trike race, in which different organizations competed to see who could go the fastest on tricycles.

Voting for Homecoming Court also took place on Tuesday. Students were able to choose five male candidates for king and five female candidates for queen on VSU’s Campus Connect. Students can vote for one candidate from the male and female choices on Thursday.

This is the first time in 10 to 15 years that VSU will have a Homecoming King.

“Myself and Isaiah Smart wrote a proposal to president McKinney and the Homecoming Committee to get Homecoming king approved for this school year,” Barker said.

“It’s a great honor to be honored as Homecoming queen, but we felt like males should have that same opportunity,” Barker said. “It seems like that has turned out great as far as this year’s elections, and if I can make a bold prediction, I don’t see it going away; I really do see this being a permanent change as far as Homecoming in years to come.”

“Terror in the Wild” at Wild Adventures was held on Wednesday night for students to enjoy a night of scares and rollercoaster rides, all provided by VSU’s Student Life. The event was free and open only to VSU students.

The president’s cookout will take place today at 5:30 p.m. at Reams Field. VSU students, faculty, staff and alumni are invited to a cookout hosted by President McKinney and the First Lady. SGA volunteers will also be helping out at the event. Students had to have already registered online in order to attend the cookout.

The Homecoming blacklight pep rally will also be held today at 7 p.m. in the P.E. Complex. There, the Homecoming Court will be announced, along with the winners from the contest held throughout the week. A lip-sync competition between different organizations will also take place after the pep rally.

Blaze Fest will take place downtown Friday at 6:30 p.m., which is open to the whole community. Buses will be available to take students downtown that evening.

Saturday is the annual Homecoming parade beginning at 11 a.m., followed by tailgating and the Homecoming football game at 3 p.m., where the Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned.

“[Homecoming] is really a special experience that every student ‒ every Blazer ‒ deserves to have,” Barker said. “For that to keep going, it simply just relates back to making that pride and tradition just such a grand experience. Reaching the V-State experience is simply what Homecoming means.”

 

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