Homecoming Week
October 21, 2009 • written by Emily Beaver
The week of Oct. 4th was homecoming for the University of Minnesota. Dozens of activities were planned and excitement rose as the big game against Purdue approached. Although the weather took a turn for the worst, the festivities soldiered on, losing little of their initial enthusiasm. To give you a taste of the vibe that infested the U I will relate some of the activities counting down to the big game. Unfortunately some of the events occurred later in the evening when I was not present, however I gathered information from participating students and coverage printed in the newspaper the following day.
On Sunday, Oct. 4th a massive scavenger hunt took place spanning the campus and Dinky Town. The participants were rushing around trying to beat their competition in answering quiz questions, finding Goldy’s treasures and taking pictures of their adventures. The winning prize with to the Homecoming Queens who compiled the most points. On Monday, Oct. 5th the flag football prelims were held. Teams battled each other to qualify for finals in the chill weather while their friends cheered from the sidelines. On Tuesday, Oct. 6th the homecoming lip syncing competition debuted with participants lip syncing a collection of songs that told a story and bore a connection to the homecoming theme: The Ultimate Homecoming. On Thursday, Oct. 8th students turned out for the free food, inflatable games, and royalty voting at Gopherfest. One of the most popular activities at Gopherfest was the maroon and gold T-shirt swap where students who didn’t own a U of M shirt could swap a T-shirt from a different college for one that would show their school pride. On Friday Oct. 9th the homecoming parade marched down the street flanked on either side by crowds of enthusiastic, over caffeinated students. The parade led to the pep fest where the marching band and spirit squad performed, the homecoming king and queen where crowned, and fireworks lit up the sky. Overall the campus was brimming with activity and excitement leading up the Ultimate Homecoming, the first held in our very own stadium.
While homecoming only comes once a year, at the U entertainment occurs every weekend. Gophers After Dark is a program that schedules social events for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. Some of these exciting activities include movie showings every Friday night, one dollar bowling, sundae parties, and more. In the Coffman movie theater recently released movies are shown every Friday night, free for all students. Sometimes they plan a one dollar bowling night at the Coffman bowling alley or have free ice cream handouts from Cold Stone or sundae parties. Each weekend brings new possibilities for fun and socializing. The excitement doubles with the fact that the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses have two separate Gophers After Dark activities planned every week, so you can pick and choose your weekend entertainment.
I will conclude with a piece of advice for future U of M PSEO students, or in most cases, aspiring PSEO students in general. Use the public bussing system! The U offers a U-Pass for about $97, that may seem like a lot, but it is a very intelligent investment, and if you are not planning on attending the U, Metrotransit offers a bus pass as well. Sure, you may own a car and be very proud of it, go right on ahead and drive to school if you like paying for gas for the half and hour trip there and back and the parking fees that can easily be 10-15 dollars a day. Lesson: take the bus.
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