After seeing friends at other schools post their pictures from their homecoming/parent weekends, I was really looking forward to seeing what DU put together. This being my first year, I wasn’t sure what to expect besides a hockey game and the possibility of free stuff. However, for other first-year students and me, we were unaware of the pre-planned homecoming activities; some students didn’t even know DU celebrated a homecoming.
“I didn’t know that there was even a hockey game,” commented Curtis Myers, a first year theatre and computer science double major from Lawton, Okla.
If it weren’t for the Pioneer Leadership Program and DU Programming Board (DUPB), I wouldn’t have known about Hocktoberfest or Fall Fest. As for other homecoming activities, I was totally unaware of the volleyball game, student internship panel and “Yoga on the Lawn.”
While the events I knew about were well-executed, I’m still wondering what can DU and its students do to make homecoming a more prominent and celebrated tradition on campus?
The success of DUPB’s May Days and Winter Carnival and other events is due to the promise of free shirts and food, a variation of activities for the average college student (concerts, ice skating, canvas painting, carnival games) and student excitement. Because the students involved in creating these events are enthusiastic about what they are producing, they are more likely to get other students interested in attending. Word of mouth is often an overlooked form of marketing, but it’s vital to the success of many campus events.
DU could utilize word of mouth to build student interest and anticipation for future homecoming weekends by involving students in the development of spirit and school related activities. This could create a more inclusive atmosphere where students are more excited about the traditions their school is attempting to organize.
In addition, students have a responsibility to search for information. We cannot expect everything to be given to us, and if we are disappointed with the outcome of an event, we should involve ourselves in the organizations that are the creators. We make the conscious decision to incorporate ourselves and our voices when it comes to what we want our life on campus to look like.
Ultimately, creating long-lasting traditions is difficult, but not impossible. Homecoming, parent weekend activities and any future new traditions could be more successful through the development of a more stable and inclusive partnership between DU and its students.
