By Emma Johnson in College Days, Student Life on October 10, 2024
After years of no festivities, the coveted event makes a return
It has been five years since Ripon College has witnessed the festivities of the “coveted” Homecoming activities. However, due to the determination of Ripon staff and students, the school and community of Ripon are going to have the opportunity to experience it again in the coming weeks.
Scheduled for Oct. 11-12, the current events slated for the week range from dress-up days, a lip-sync battle, pep rallies, a dance, and a tailgate to kick off a weekend of home games for the Red Hawk athletics (football, volleyball, men and women’s soccer).
Brianna Cyr, Student Activities and Orientation Director, notes that the idea of Homecoming came back to fruition with the new stadium in the last year, along with the coordination of the alumni network for the coinciding Family Weekend simultaneously occurring on Oct. 11-12.
“It kind of started from the stadium,” Cyr said. “A colleague and I, Amy Gerretsen, in Advancement, were just chatting about things… We decided to start planning so we can get serious about it. There are a lot of departments involved, athletics has a huge role…marketing is involved… we set up the meeting and asked everyone ‘should we do this’ and everyone said ‘heck yes.”
Once development was underway, Cyr talked about the crucial aspect of involving the students. As approval was granted in the Spring of 2024 meetings and carried into the summer, Cyr involved senior and Student Assistant Hall Director (SAHD) Paige Hauck to the Homecoming Student Committee.
“To open it up to the rest of campus, I really want[ed] to be able to be a part of that,” Hauck said. “I hope we can get this positive morale going and show students that you can be a part of something that doesn’t get you in trouble… you can be a part of the crowd without getting hurt or feeling FOMO (fear of missing out).”
Among the events that have garnered interest and attention for Homecoming is the spirit week, reminiscent of high school homecoming week, where students could correspond with the five-day theme.
“Something that I think people are getting interested in is bringing back high school spirit week,” Hauck said. “Having whoever contributes to the Homecoming Committee will directly help pick those days, so it isn’t going to be school mandated and I think that will be more fun for what students want. Everyone loves cute outfits and photos.”
But new traditions are also in the making. Cyr is looking for teams to give their best performance at the pep rally and participate in a lip sync battle, hoping for something to show school spirit but also that college can be fun too.
“Come have some fun, come lip sync,” Cyr said. “And look, the first 100 students get a free T-shirt. It’s something to do and watch your friends have fun too.”
More updated information will be coming through posters, the Ripon College website,
and through the Instagram Page @rcstudentlife.