Gustavus is stepping away from black and gold and taking a new spin on Homecoming 2013 with a ‘Nights of Neon’ theme.
“The neon theme really is meant to put a new, exciting, and unique twist on a Gustavus tradition. It’s a unique twist on Homecoming, something we have never done before. CAB is always looking for new ways to spice things up. The ‘Nights of Neon’ theme was perfect for that,” CAB Special Events Co-Executive Alexa Peterson said.
Many of the events, such as the laser light show, laser tag, and glow rave, are planned around the neon theme, and students are encouraged to dress the part when attending the events.
Another change to the typical Homecoming events includes changing the titles, ‘King’ and ‘Queen’ to the gender neutral title, ‘Royalty.’ Royalty will be crowned at the Pep Fest on Friday. Sept. 27.
“We felt that renaming the King and Queen to Royalty is important to our effort to move towards a more open and accepting campus. By moving towards Royalty, we are opening the doors for everyone to have the chance to represent their class regardless of how they identify themselves. CAB is really eager to engage the whole student body, cut down barriers and promote diversity,” Peterson said.
Homecoming kicked off its large list of events on Monday Sept. 23. A medallion hunt started at 8 a.m. Monday and runs through Friday.
Window painting also took place Monday evening in the Evelyn Young Dining Room. Windows are judged on “Best School Spirit” and “Most Creative” by a panel of judges, and “Student’s Choice” in which Gustavus students had a chance to vote for their favorite window via text.
Cash Cab ran in-between classes on Wednesday and Thursday. Designated golf carts with CAB members picked students up at campus locations and brought them where they needed to go on campus. Along the way, students were quizzed on random trivia questions. Correct answers were rewarded with candy and gift cards.
For the Pep Fest, organizations and athletic teams will make a totem or object to represent their group. Two $250 prizes will go to the organizations with the most creativity and most Gustie spirit. The emcee for the event will be Jason Levasseur, who is also a comedic singer.
Following the Pep Fest will be the Pizza Off. This year there are four vendors: Schultz’s Pizza, Jake’s Pizza, Dominos, and last year’s winner, Godfather’s Pizza. After, students are invited to Lund Arena for a Laser/Light show hosted by Lightwave International.
Laser Tag will be held both Friday and Saturday night on the Hollingsworth Football Field.
There will be a tailgating party held at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at President Ohle’s house before the sporting events in the afternoon. The Board of Trustees will be serving the food—corn dogs, mini donuts and other fair food.
Fall athletes will get the chance to show their school off with special homecoming games. Women’s soccer will take on the College of St. Benedict at 1 p.m. on the soccer fields, Football takes on St. Olaf College at 1:30 p.m. and the Volleyball team will play Macalester College at 4 p.m.
“This is a great opportunity for students to go and support their athletes. Hopefully they can all pull off a win,” CAB Arts and Entertainment Executive Caitlin Dow said.
The Glow Rave will be held outside under the big tent Saturday night. Hosting duties will be taken up by with popular radio personalities DJ Bob and KDWB-affiliated Lucas and Steve-O. The rave will be a huge dance party with fog machines, lasers, and people decked out in neon and glow sticks.
“The Cabbies worked very hard to be creative and fall within the trends of pop culture,” Director of Campus Activities and CAB advisor Andrea Junso said.
“The students should be excited for all events. We did our best to put a new twist into every event we are bringing to campus. There are so many amazing things going on this weekend be sure not to miss any of it,” Peterson said.