Homecoming Week kicks off with opening ceremonies

PublicDomainPictures / Pixabay

The week has finally come. The annual campus-wide event, Homecoming week arrived Friday afternoon and a festive opening ceremony was held at the Rathskeller bar to kick-start the week that welcomes back alumni and celebrates the school.

The opening ceremony at The Rat was packed with members of student organizations Friday, with the honor society Omnicron Delta Kappa ringing in the week with the chimes of its bell and students singing their cheer songs as they tried to hype up their members. Homecoming’s theme is “For My City” and for the opening ceremonies, each student organization had to create a model of a famous location in the city of Miami that was assigned to them by the Homecoming Executive Committee (HEC).

For each student organization it was important to make a good first impression, for the winner of the opening ceremonies gets 50 points, which help determine the overall homecoming winner.

The reigning champions of last year’s Homecoming, Federación de Estudiantes Cubanos (FEC), started the week off strong by taking first place for their model of Marlins Stadium. They used plastic, cardboard and dominoes to represent the Cuban culture and clay from the stadium to make a knee-high model.

“We were super excited to get the building, the hardest part was what to make it out of, but we decided to use the recyclable cardboard and dominoes to represent what our organization is about,” said Christian Perez, the FEC member in charge of making the structure. “We won two years in a row so we want to do a three-peat, and hearing we got first place puts us in a great start. We are so happy.”
 
Coming in second was the Council of International Studios and Organizations (COISO), which made a model of Sun Life stadium using cardboard for the exterior, printer toners for lamps around the stadium and paper mache for the grass.
 
“The building process was challenging, to create different layers of the stadium and cutting the toners was difficult. But it was rewarding to see our efforts recognized,” Rick Lin, the COISO representative for Homecoming, said. “We wanted to accurately portray the stadium, which all students of Miami love. Many memories have been created for the students and the athletes.”

Heather Stevens, assistant to the vice president of student affairs, Teddy L’Houtelier, sustainability manager at UM and Shelley Pamphile, administrative assistant of The Rat judged the models based on the materials used — which had to be recyclable — and creativity.

“As Miami Hurricanes we care for our city, the university and our fellow Canes,” Vice President of Student Affairs Patricia Whitely said.

The action-packed week has fun events where student organizations compete against each other and display their talents, participate in community service and show their spirit to campus to get as many points possible for their organizations.

Homecoming Week Schedule

Friday (Oct. 30):
– Opening ceremonies at The Rat – 6 p.m.
– Alma Mater at Shalala Student Center Ballroom – 7 p.m.

Saturday (Oct. 31):
– Hurricanes Help the Hometown at various locations around Miami – 9 a.m.

Monday (Nov. 2):
– King and Queen pageant at the Shalala Student Center Grand Ballroom – 7 p.m.

Tuesday (Nov. 3):
– Organized Cheer at the Lakeside Patio – 7 p.m.

Wednesday (Nov. 4):
– Storm Warning at Lakeside Patio – 6 p.m.

Friday (Nov. 6):
– Parade at Merrick Drive – 7 p.m.

Saturday (Nov. 7):
– Homecoming football game vs. University of Virginia Cavaliers at Sun Life Stadium – 3 p.m.

Feature photo courtesy Pixabay user PublicDomainPictures.