URI Homecoming weekend starts off fresh

10/12/07 - A weekend filled with fireworks, tent-villages and a photo-op with Rhody the Ram is coming to the University of Rhode Island for this year's Homecoming.Though the main event is the football game against James Madison University on Saturday, student groups including the Student Alumni Association, Student Senate and the National Society of Black Engineers have other entertaining activities planned.

"What the students have done is make it more of a collaborative effort to get people more excited and to revive the tradition," Brittany Manseau, president of SAA, said yesterday.

The weekend kicks off Friday night with a URI men's soccer game versus Xavier University and the Rhody Rally in Keaney Gymnasium, which Manseau said she would label as the most imperative event for students.

"It's hard to just pick one thing to go to, but I would say don't miss out on the Rhody Rally," Manseau said.

Some might say the best thing about Homecoming is the price. All events except for the Rhody Rally, which is $3, are free. Any profit made from the rally will go to the Student Philanthropy Challenge's cause, "Scrounge for the Lounge," which is aiming to revamp the Airport Lounge in the Memorial Union by June 30.

Student Senate President Neil Leston said Homecoming is aiming to revive tradition and help the university get pumped for future homecomings. He said he thought the university has lost its fervor for Homecoming since URI stopped being a "party school" nearly seven years ago.

"They've been lost as to what tradition this can be without alcohol," Leston said. "[Former Student Senate President Neil] Cavanaugh started to build on [Homecoming] last year . It takes hard work, but most importantly, you have to ask students what they want."

Student Senate Vice President Ryan Battis said, "We wanted to really get alumni involved as well as students, and I feel that we've finally begun sort of a tradition."

He added, "This tradition we hope will build for a bigger and brighter future so we can hope to come back and enjoy it as alumni ourselves."

If students want to take home a tangible memory of the weekend, Homecoming T-shirts can be purchased at the Homecoming Booth in the Memorial Union for $6 today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or at the Rhody Rally, which is at 7:30 p.m.

Students can also vote for Homecoming King and Queen until 3 p.m. today by filling containers with soda tabs at the Memorial Union. The tabs will be counted, and the nominees with the most tabs will win the crowns.

After students get "RAMbunctious," as is the key word for Homecoming, they can gather at the bonfire, watch the URI cheerleaders do stunts for the crowd and eat free pizza while sipping Rhode Island's trademark Del's lemonade. Local radio station WWKX 106.3, also known as Hot 106, will also be playing disc-jockey that night, and again before the football game. The Homecoming King and Queen will be announced at the bonfire. The rain date for the fireworks is Saturday night, but Manseau said not to expect a cancellation unless it's down pouring.

After Friday night's festivities, students can head to Meade Stadium the next morning and visit a number of student and alumni-run tents, each featuring games, raffles, activities or food. The carnival-like atmosphere will also include airbrush tattoos and balloon artists.

There will be a strong Greek presence, as Lambda Chi Alpha alumni, the URI Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils, and Chi Phi alumni will be presenting their booths. There will also be opportunities for alumni to reunite under certain tents.

"All the departments of the university have really come together to work together and support everything as far as catering to the police, to the fire department, to transportation to athletics, to alumni," Manseau said. "We're happy that they were able to make the weekend more complete."

Students can also visit the Alumni Association information booth where they will have the opportunity to take a picture with the school mascot, Rhody the Ram.

After hanging around the tents for a while, students can venture over to the cookout, where Manseau said the only catch is that it's first come, first served.

The planning for Homecoming, which has cost the university more than $10,000, started in April. At that point, biweekly conference calls between members of the SAA and the Student Senate began to take place. The actual budget of Homecoming could not be disclosed, though Manseau estimated it was around $10,000.

Battis said, "We hope that Homecoming is a big success this year, and I've heard everyone's really excited for this weekend."

Leston added, "The amount of planning that went into it; I can't thank the people involved enough.