Homecoming begins Oct. 29, and students from various campus organizations will participate in this year’s activities with some new rules incorporated into the competition.
Based upon concerns from previous years, organizers found that homecoming was turning into a competition event rather than an activity that promoted students, faculty, staff and alumni to unite.
One of the most significant changes is the event competition categories. Traditionally Greek and independent organizations do not compete against each other, but this year that will not be the case. Organizations will be categorized according to number of members they each have; this way students will get to interact with a more diverse group of students.
“I think it was fun competing against other fraternities and sororities because it was really a Greek thing, but I welcome the new changes because it will bring the school together as a whole,” said Bobby Kaple, senior and member of Sigma Chi. “I think it was great before but you can’t go wrong opening up the competition to others.”
Students have welcomed the changes, stressing the importance of the Greek and non-Greek organizations to compete together.
“It will benefit the UM community by promoting diversity and teamwork, and I also believe it will benefit the Greek community as well in a lot of ways,” said Katie Benjamin, senior and Tri Delta member. “It will give non-Greek students an opportunity to meet Greek students and interact and learn about the Greek community.”
Independent organizations are eager to have the opportunity to participate with the Greek community, and have smaller organizations become more actively involved in homecoming activities.
“This encourages competition between all organizations, Greek and non-Greek, allowing new rivalries to be formed. I’ve noticed that there are more small organizations that want to compete this year than in past years,” Miriam Cortes, president of the Association of Commuter Students, said. “Either way, it’s important to remember that homecoming is not about the competition-it’s about showing love and spirit for your alma mater.”
Other changes this year include the shortening of competition time from three and a half weeks in previous years to just one week. Also, the Ms. UM pageant will now take place in the spring, and a different competition will be held for Ms. Homecoming.
Vanessa Krause can be contacted at v.krause@umiami.edu.