News Release

Southeastern celebrating Homecoming Week Oct. 13-18


Contact: Tonya Lowentritt

10/3/08




     HAMMOND Southeastern Louisiana University will celebrate Homecoming Oct. 13-18 with the theme “Southeastern Sitcoms.”

     The Alumni Association and the university welcome all alumni and friends with a week of spirited activities capped by tailgating, reunions, a downtown Hammond parade and football action in Strawberry Stadium.

     Since Homecoming Week 2008 falls during October, campus visitors can also take part in a variety of events included in Fanfare, the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts’ annual festival of the arts, humanities and sciences. A complete Fanfare schedule is available at columbiatheatre.org.

     Homecoming Week will offer a number of time-honored favorites, such as the Gumbo Ya Ya fest for students, campus and community decorating contests, including a kid’s shoebox float decorating contest, an alumni art exhibit, a golf tournament, and the FE-Lions’ Homecoming luncheon.

     Homecoming activities begin on Monday, Oct. 13, with Business Week, featuring a series of guest speakers from a variety of business related fields who share their real-world experiences with Southeastern students. Business Week’s special guest will be Jose Barrios, deputy director of the Panama Canal.

     Also on Monday, Southeastern African American sororities and fraternities will again sponsor the Southeastern Family Reunion at 7 p.m. in the Student Union mall.

     Tuesday, Oct. 14, will include the Lyceum Lights lecture and luncheon at 12:30 p.m. at Twelve Oaks, featuring remarks by the 2008 recipients of the university’s President’s Awards for Excellence in teaching, research, the arts and service. At 2 p.m. in the Student Union ballroom, faculty teams will take on student teams in the annual Phi Kappa Phi Homecoming Quiz Bowl.

     The Dream Team, the committee that plans student Homecoming activities, will sponsor its always zany “Fear Factor” games at 6:30 p.m. in Strawberry Stadium, followed at 7:30 p.m. by a new Dream Team-created Homecoming event, a students vs. staff flag football match, also in the stadium.

     On Wednesday, Oct. 15, beginning at 11 a.m. students will enjoy food, fun and a mini-pep rally at Gumbo YaYa. The 2008 Homecoming queen and beau courts will be introduced and the winners of campus and community decorating contests will be announced. The winner of the community contest will receive10 free tickets to Saturday’s Lions vs. Northwestern State Homecoming football game.

     The winners of the Homecoming children’s float decorating contest will be revealed Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Alumni Center, while at 5:30 p.m. more new Dream Team student games, the “Homecoming Dorm Challenge,” will get underway in the parking area near Southeastern’s residence halls.

     On Thursday, Oct. 16, 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, and the FE-Lions will host their Homecoming luncheon at noon at Trey Yuen. The annual Homecoming faculty/staff cook-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Alumni Center.

     The big finale on Thursday will be the annual bonfire, which will be torched at the traditional spot adjacent to the Alumni Center at 8:15 p.m. Spectators can also enjoy fireworks and music by the Spirit of the Southland Band.

     Friday, Oct. 17, begins with the Homecoming golf tournament at Carter Plantation at 8 a.m. Alumni and friends can also take advantage of free fitness workouts at the Pennington Student Activity Center throughout the day.

     Friday is also the date for the Alumni Awards Evening, scheduled for 7 p.m. at Twelve Oaks. The evening will include announcements of several Alumni Association awards, including the 2008 Alumnus of the Year, which will be presented to ­­­­­­­Ken Ross, Class of 1967, a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general and chief of staff of the Louisiana Air National Guard. Ross, a Hammond resident, is a senior partner in the law firm of Seale & Ross.

     Awards Evening tickets are available at the Alumni Association, (985) 549-2150 or 1-800-SLU-ALUM.

     The Awards Evening will be followed at 9 p.m. by the Homecoming Ball, sponsored by the African American Alumni Chapter, at the Student Union ballroom.

     The action begins early on Homecoming, Oct. 18, with “Run Home,” a 1 mile fun run and 5K race, sponsored by the Department of Kinesiology and Health Students. Registration is scheduled for 7 a.m. with the fun run beginning at the Pennington Center at 8 a.m. and the 5-K at 8:30 a.m.

     Fun and spirit will fill Friendship Circle for most of the day. Alumni and visitors can again enjoy more free workouts and campus tours, tailgating and booths manned by area merchants and Southeastern art students in Friendship Circle, and 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.

     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. The Alumni Art Exhibit will open to the public from 2-5:30 p.m. in the Contemporary Art Gallery at 100 East Stadium.

     Reunions and tailgating will be hosted by all six of the university’s colleges and divisions as well as by groups such as the U.S. Army ROTC, Orientation Leaders and Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Two groups, the Students of the States and the Student Nurses Association, are having special 40th anniversary reunions.

     In conjunction with its reunion, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences will host a health fair at 2:30 p.m. in friendship circle, where blood pressure, blood glucose, vision, hearing, and body mass index screenings will be offered. Participants can also experience the “drunk goggles,” which simulate visual/motor impairment with intoxication.

     The Homecoming parade will role from campus to downtown Hammond and back again at 2 p.m. Following the parade, fans can cheer on Head Coach Mike Lucas and his team as they “Lion Walk” through Friendship Circle to Strawberry Stadium.

     After pre-game activities featuring performances by the reunited Students of the States and Spirit of the Southland band and alumni, the Lions will kick off against Northwestern State at 6 p.m. The 2008 Homecoming queen and king will be announced and crowned at halftime.

     For a complete schedule of Homecoming 2008 events, visit www.selu.edu/homecoming or call the Alumni Center, 1-800-SLU-ALUM or (985) 549-2150.



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