Homecoming celebration

Katie Herman / Staff Writer / The USD Vista

“The collegiate tradition of homecoming represents a school’s past, present and future, and the University of San Diego’s homecoming celebration was no different. The entire weekend of Oct. 3-5 was dedicated to homecoming and alumni reunions with the weekend’s main event being the Homecoming Picnic and tailgate on Saturday afternoon. The event was geared towards alumni of all ages as well as current students.

Over 20 USD student organizations set up booths advertising their organizations and many of them had games for kids to play. The wide range of represented organizations included Associated Students, Young Democrats, T.R.E.E. Club, Students for Life, AMSA, Invisible Children and many Greek organizations. The student booths were a great way for alumni to get a sense of what current students are involved in and to see how things have changed or stayed the same in some cases. For example, Young Democrats’ current members were able to meet the club’s founding member who started the club in the early 1960s. Senior Simona Capisani, member of T.R.E.E Club, said “It was a great opportunity for current students to reach out to alumni and connect to future generations of potential USD students at the same time. The variety of clubs showed the diversity of USD’s campus organizations, and it also showed a solidarity between the student organizations.” The children of the alumni who attended the event all enjoyed playing the different organization’s games. Perhaps as the alumni watched their children enjoy USD’s campus, they could see them one day being a member of USD’s student body.

Besides the student organization booths, the homecoming event also provided plenty of opportunities for alumni to casually mingle and catch up with one another. DJ Bao, a USD tradition in and of himself, played a mix of past and current music while people ate delicious Mexican food, Jamba Juice, barbeque and root beer floats. For those students and alumni who wanted something a little stronger than root beer, Gordon Birsch sponsored a beer garden.

“It was kinda weird being ushered into a corral in front of Maher and be branded like cattle with blue armbands, but once the liquor starting flowing, I celebrated the opportunity to engage in drinking in front of the buildings where I have class,” Capisci said. Despite the slightly awkward location of the beer garden, it was a good chance for alumni to relive their college experience and talk to current students in a laid-back atmosphere.

Homecoming’s mission is to welcome back alumni, engage current students and inspire future students. The tailgate successfully accomplished all these things through their tailgate and picnic event. Current students can now look forward to their futures as alumni and returning to homecoming for years to come.”