University of Wyoming Homecoming week is upon us. Campus is going to be booming with student activities from the parade to the homecoming sing competition to our much-anticipated homecoming football game. This week is full of traditions both great and small and will definitely be exciting.
Kicking off the celebrations is a t-shirt giveaway from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. This is taking place at Simpsons Plaza where free t-shirts will be distributed. The event is being sponsored by ASUW.
The main goal that ASUW has for the week is to get students to participate in the activities that have been planned. It is all about student engagement and getting people involved around campus to improve the culture of the university for the better.
“To be able to outreach to as many students as possible,” Vice President of ASUW Jaynie Welsh said.
Wednesday, Oct. 25 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. a brand-new event to campus will be the student tailgate and pep rally which will commence in not one but two different locations. At both Washakie Dining Center and Washakie Green the tailgate will be held and is open for all students to attend.
The first 300 students to arrive at the event will receive food, free of charge. If students have a meal plan they can also just swipe their card and enjoy the tailgate.
After the tailgate, tentatively at 6:45 p.m. everyone will assemble next to White Hall and then will proceed to join in on the festivities by gathering for the pep rally walk. This walk will go all the way to the Arts and Sciences Auditorium for the homecoming sing competition.
At 7 p.m. at the Arts and Sciences Auditorium one of the oldest traditions at the University will take place. This event is the homecoming sing competition. This long-standing tradition is presented by Iron Skull this year which is one of two junior honoraries at the university. This organization is as old as the university itself and manages this event every year.
The Homecoming Sing is a competition where students come together and perform during homecoming week. Fraternities, sororities, and other groups of students participate and put on a show for both the entertainment of the students and faculty and to come together as a group to bond through the experience.
“All of the sororities and fraternities will donate their winnings to their philanthropy, ours is The Make a Wish Foundation,” Chi Omega sorority sister, Kerry Adams said.
Following the homecoming sing, the homecoming dance will take place in the Union ballroom and is hosted by the university’s very own Cowboy Country Swing Club. The club will start swing dance lessons at 8 p.m. to teach the beginners and even the seasoned dancers something new. The dance officially begins at 9 p.m. at which time the live music by Ryan Chrys and the Rough Cuts will also begin.
Then, Thursday, Oct. 26 at 2:30 p.m. at the southwest ramp of War Memorial Stadium (near gate 1), the annual car push will begin. This event is sponsored by UW Athletics. The car push, much like many other events taking place this week on campus, is a long-standing tradition. The car push has two weight divisions that participants may be placed under.
These divisions are determined by a team’s collective weight; they include the weight classes ranging from 1,000-1,999 pounds. to 2,000-2,999 pounds. After they weigh in the teams will be placed in a weight class and then will push a car uphill within the stadium. This event is in fact timed and the fastest time per weight division will win, receiving a banner for their victory.
Friday, Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the ASUW Annual Pig Roast at Simpson Plaza will take place. Another tradition on campus is ASUW sponsored barbeque that will include pulled pork sandwiches, music, corn hole and various other activities. The event will end at approximately 1 p.m.
The UW Homecoming Parade is a long-standing tradition for UW that began in 1941. This event is hosted and sponsored by The UW Alumni Association and the WYO-GOLD Student Alumni Association. The parade will begin at 9:30 am. on Saturday, Oct. 28. It is an event that highlights and embodies the spirit of UW and the community around us.
The theme for the parade this year is ‘Wyoming’s Spirit: Wild is the West.” A record amount of entries has been made this year coming in at 95 float entries total.
President Nichols requested for unity within the school and more school spirit demonstrated throughout the university, therefore the UW Alumni Association has gathered over 500 gold shirts so that the streets of the parade will be full of poke pride.
The Alumni Association also gave ASUW 3,000 dollars to allow for Fraternities, Sororities and RSO’s on campus to be able to create and upgrade their floats for the parade.
At the parade, there will be two color guards. One will be mounted on horseback and the other will be walking with the pace of the parade. There will also be two high school bands performing and the alumni band will also be joining these two bands.
In addition, there will be three wagons for dignitaries, one of which will be escorting Senator Enzi, his wife and his grandchildren, while another will be escorting the state Treasurer Mark Gordon and his wife. Finally, our very own President Nichols will be on a wagon with Pistol Pete.
Proceeding the parade on Saturday the annual sophomore and freshman tug of war competition will commence. This event is being brought back from being previously forgotten by SPURS.
This tradition was based on the pond that used to lie between Merica Hall and the Arts and Sciences Building where the event was previously held. This competition will be held in memory of the original competition and in the place where it was once conducted.
Also following the tug of war competition, Dr. Phil Roberts will be conducting a historical tour of the campus and will be showing the community of UW how much history and culture envelops our University.
The focal points of the tour will be the original library prior to the building of the Coe library, what the five oldest buildings on campus are, the original name of the university was and what the Octopus tree is. This tour will give a sense of historical context to our beloved campus.
Saturday, Oct. 28 at 5:30 p.m. the Cowboys will face off against New Mexico. This is the Homecoming game for our Cowboys, after having played away games for the past two weeks. The campus is boiling over with excitement for the return of our football players and the culture they bring home with them.
After having won one of the last two games and lost the other the Cowboys will be gaining the physical support of their school as they return from playing away from home. This game will be what the week of spirit and UW culture has been preparing us for; this is going to be the culminating moment of the week and we’re definitely ready for this game.
