By Hanifah Jones, Digital Media Editor
Everyone is a hero with this year’s homecoming theme, “The ‘Grove Goes Gotham.”
The weekend of October 6, Susquehanna will welcome back alumni and friends to campus and the class of 1968 will be celebrating their milestone 50th reunion.
“At the moment we have between eight and nine hundred people who have registered to come back,” said Devin Rhoads, director of alumni relations who helped coordinate homecoming weekend.
“We always have people who come who don’t register so we will probably have about 1,500 to 1,600 [alumni] on campus this weekend,” Rhoads continued.
There are many homecoming traditions including the Smith Lawn tent party which takes place on Saturday from 4-9 p.m. “One of our traditions is that we always try to have music be a part of the weekend,” Rhoads said.
“This year there are several bands that will be playing starting at 11:30 a.m to 9 p.m. Every year at graduation there’s one band called Into the Spin and they’re coming back for Homecoming this year. We also have assorted student bands coming in.”
The Alumni Office is also expanding diversity and inclusion events for the weekend.
“Last year we did our first [LGBT] gathering and that is something we are doing again this year,” said Rhoads.
The LGBT Reception will take place on Saturday beginning at 4 p.m., on Smith Lawn.
“[There is also] an event for the alumni of color,” Rhoads said. “We always did a lunch or a dinner by the sorority [Sigma Gamma Rho] but this year on top of that we’re doing a tent by the Champions tent for the alumni to meet up before the sorority’s event.”
The Alumni and Students of Color Cookout will take place at the Sigma Gamma Rho House at 4 p.m. “I’m excited about our annual homecoming event and reconnecting with alumni of color,” said senior Donique Haynes, Sigma Gamma Rho’s panhel chair who helped plan the event.
Other homecoming events include the 2018 Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday evening honoring the accomplishments of alumni athletes. This kicks off homecoming sports with the football game, Riverhawks versus Moravian and alumni tailgates. There will also be men and women’s soccer and rugby.
Current students kicked off homecoming with a superhero themed Spirit Week.
“I chose the general theme this year based off the Alumni theme of “SU-per heroes,” said Alexis Cuomo, the president of the Homecoming Committee. On Oct. 1, students were inspired to create their own secret identities in Lower Degenstein Campus Center at the homecoming table. Oct. 2 was dedicated to writing letters for your real-life superheroes.
The pink theme on Oct. 3 brought Breast Cancer Awareness to campus to coincide with Zeta Tau Alpha’s Think Pink week. On Oct. 4, students were able to decorate paper planes at the homecoming table. On Oct. 5, students were encouraged to fully embrace the theme and dress up as their favorite superheroes.
Spirit week concludes on Oct. 5 at Trax’s annual Homecoming Semi-Formal, co-hosted by SAC. “The homecoming court is done through the student body,” Cuomo said.
“Each organization is given the opportunity to nominate up to six people: a homecoming King and Queen, and two Princes and Princesses. An online ballot is created and … the student body then gets to vote and the results are announced at Trax on Friday.”
