Southeastern celebrating Homecoming Oct. 23-28
Contact: Christina Chapple
10/5/06
Homecoming 2006 schedule
More information: www.selu.edu/alumni
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University will celebrate Homecoming Oct. 23-28 with the theme “Roomie Walks the Red Carpet.”
And the university will roll out a red – make that “green and gold” -- carpet of welcome to alumni and friends with a week of spirited activities capped by a downtown Hammond parade and football action in Strawberry Stadium.
The Homecoming Week schedule will also boast a pair of new twists that Southeastern plans to make Homecoming traditions. Both of these new traditions involve a musical “call to action,” said Alumni Association Director Kathy Pittman.
On “Homecoming Eve,” Friday, Oct. 27, Southeastern’s Spirit of the Southland marching band will parade through campus, Pied Piper-style, musically leading residence hall students, guests at the Alumni Awards Evening in Twelve Oaks – and anyone else who wants to join in – to the Homecoming bonfire.
The band will march at 8:30 p.m. from Friendship Circle to the bonfire site adjacent to the Alumni Center on University Ave. Students will already be gathered there for a block party beginning at 7 p.m. The bonfire will be torched at 9 p.m. with a fireworks display to follow.
The second new musical tradition will take place on Homecoming Day -- Saturday, Oct. 28. At 6:30 p.m., a half an hour before the Lions vs. Stephen F. Austin Homecoming game, the university’s victory bell, which is usually pealed to mark touchdowns, will be rung to summons fans into Strawberry Stadium for pre-game activities.
Those activities will include warm-up cheers with the cheerleading squad, performances by the Spirit of the Southland band and Lionettes, and a parade of Southeastern student athletes, Pittman said.
“We’re going to pipe the sound of the bell over the stadium public address system to call fans into the stadium,” she said. “One of our former football players will make the announcement that it’s time to ‘let the spirit roar.’”
Homecoming Week will also include a number of time-honored favorites. The week will begin with the Southeastern Family Reunion, at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 23, in the Student Union Park. The event, sponsored by Southeastern African American sororities and fraternities, debuted last year, and will feature food, entertainment and family activities.
From Oct. 23-26, the College of Business will add its annual Business Week to the Homecoming schedule. More than 60 speakers will visit business classrooms to share their real-world experiences.
Activities on Tuesday, Oct. 24, will include the Phi Kappa Phi Homecoming Quiz Bowl at 2 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre, the Lyceum Lights lecture and luncheon at noon at Twelve Oaks, the opening reception from 5-6:30 p.m. for an art exhibit at Sims Memorial Library featuring alumnus Luz Maria Lopez, and the zany student “Fear Factor” games at 8 p.m. in the Student Union park.
On Wednesday, Oct. 25, students will enjoy food, fun and a mini-pep rally at Gumbo Ya Ya beginning at 11 a.m. The event will also include a cooking contest for students and a special runway style show of designs created by students in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. The annual faculty/staff cook-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Alumni Center.
On Thursday, Oct. 26, the Homecoming golf tournament will tee off at 8 a.m. at Carter Plantation, the FE-Lions’ host their Homecoming luncheon at noon Trey Yuen, and Gamma Beta Phi will hold its annual “A Ton of Fun Food Drive” from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Student Union mall. Also in the mall students will compete at noon in a “rock, paper, scissors” tournament.
On Friday, Oct. 27, alumni can take advantage of free fitness workouts at the Pennington Student Activity Center.
In addition to the bonfire and block party, Friday is also the date for the Alumni Awards Evening, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Twelve Oaks. The evening will include announcements of a several Alumni Association awards, including the 2006 Alumnus of the Year. The award will be presented to Dr. Fanancy Anzalone, a 1977 Southeastern graduate who recently retired after a distinguished career with the U.S. Navy Medical Corps and is now Miami area medical director for American Airlines.
Awards Evening tickets are available at the Alumni Association, (985) 549-2150 or 1-800-SLU-ALUM.
The action begins early on Homecoming Day, Oct. 28, and fun and spirit will fill Friendship Circle for most of the day. Alumni and visitors can again enjoy more free workouts and campus tours, tailgate in Friendship Circle, and enjoy bands at the Pottle Performance Circle. Meanwhile, children can have fun with a variety of activities, crafts, and games, and everyone can browse a ceramics sale and display by Southeastern art students.
The College of Education and Human Development will unveil a new “Educators Honor Roll” at 9:30 a.m. in the Teacher Education Center and a reception and dedication ceremony for Southeastern donors who have endowed scholarships and professorships will be held at 11 a.m. in Sims Memorial Library.
Reunions and tailgating will be hosted by all five of the university’s colleges, and Greek organizations and student organizations, including the Wesley Foundation, which is its celebrating 50th anniversary, and Akindelas Fraternity.
The Homecoming parade will role from campus to downtown Hammond and back again at 3 p.m. Members of the 2006 Homecoming queen and beau courts will be recognized and the queen and king will be announced and crowned at halftime of the football game.
For more information about Homecoming 2006, call the Alumni Center, 1-800-SLU-ALUM or (985) 549-2150, or visit www.selu.edu/alumni.
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