Stephanie Lorenzo // Contributing Photographer
The Homecoming Executive Committee (HEC) aimed to set a new standard with the Opening Ceremonies for Homecoming 2013’s festivities.
With the brand new Student Activities Center (SAC) and patio area, the Opening Ceremonies held at the UC Patio were able to expand the celebrations, including more people than previous years..
“It’s a special year because of the opening of the new building, so we wanted to start in a special way,” said junior Daniel Narciso, one of two co-chairs of Opening Ceremonies. “We wanted to set a tone of excitement and anticipation.”
Omicron Delta Kappa signaled the start of the Dr. Seuss-themed Homecoming celebration with the ringing of a bell, and the event began with the recognition of Norm Parsons, the director of the wellness center, for his dedication to the university.
The event also featured a performance by members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the umbrella organization for the historically black Greek letter organizations, a Canes spell out competition and a costume competition. Students were treated to fried Oreos, frozen lemonade and cotton candy throughout the evening.
The event succeeded in rallying students’ excitement for the rest of the homecoming events. Sophomore Victoria Boylan could feel the energy in the atmosphere.
“I can see a lot of organizations are going really hard. It’s really exciting,” she said.
The Opening Ceremonies were followed by the Alma Mater preliminaries, which were held on the stage at the the Rathskeller. Eight different teams performed remixes to a variety of popular songs, as well as the traditional alma mater.
Hecht Residential College was chosen as the HEC choice, while United Black Students, Association of Commuter Students and the Federacion de Estudiantes Cubanos (FEC) qualified for the Alma Mater finals that will take place Nov. 7. UBS, ACS and FEC were also the top three teams in last year’s alma mater competition.
Justin Borroto, Student Government vice president and president of FEC, felt relieved that their hard work paid off.
“We worked so hard to make sure people enjoyed out performance, so it was awesome to know that it paid off,” he said.
For more information on Homecoming and for a complete schedule of events, visit the event’s Facebook page at facebook.com/UMHomecoming.