Gray Mcneely
ENG 1113
Prof Korver
October 10th 2014
Oklahoma State University: The Greatest Homecoming in America
The experience of Oklahoma State University (OSU), in Stillwater, Oklahoma, is unrivalled in colleges throughout the nation. The annual homecoming events that take place on campus are held in high regards. This year the OSU Alumni association announced the theme for homecoming: “Branding a brighter orange”. Some supporters claim these homecoming events to be the best and the brightest in the country. Alumni, families and other visitors come from across the country to witness OSU’s homecoming (OSU Alumni association). Homecoming is my favorite event at OSU because of the immense amount of effort put forth by students, the organized festivities, and the gathering of the OSU family.
Homecoming takes place in the fall, around the middle of October, as the temperature drops and the leaves turn yellow. The streets are filled with thousands of people, shoulder to shoulder, walking along an intricate web of misdirection. Vendors selling goods of all varieties sit on every corner, waiting veraciously for the next customer. The main intersections on, or around, campus are closed off to all traffic. On the Friday before game day, the streets around the Greek stretch of fraternities and sororities host The Walk Around, they open their houses for visitors and alumni to soak in the display of homecoming extravaganza instilled upon each elaborately engineered house. Early Saturday morning of homecoming week, the Sea of Orange Parade weaves its way down Main Street, while the curbside overflows with people gazing at each decorative float or OSU’s mascot Bullet galloping down the road. Tens of thousands of people fill Hester Street for The Walk where painted words of inspiration line the road as the OSU football team, with a confidential stride, make their way to the stadium.
Pomping displays are a practice held strong through Greek tradition. Homecomings’ preparations for The Walk Around begins in early September. Fraternities and sororities pair together daily, working side by side in the sweat shops called basements, laboriously pomping, or inserting tiny and colorful shreds of tissue paper into chicken wire. Enormous metal riggings are riddled with designs, each piece just a microscopic speck of an ultimately beautiful piece of OSU-themed artwork. Dylan Dunlap, a senior member of the “Sigma Nu” fraternity, explains:
We all contributed to a wide variety of images. Some images might be a popular alumni, like the professional golfer Rickie Fowler, or an iconic, local hangout, like Coney Island, or Theta Pond. The images we created linked together through OSU history, or greatness.
Collaborative ideas from the senior members of the paired houses blossom into meticulously composed, OSU inspired canvases. The competition between houses invokes creativity and uniqueness in every aspect of the intensely coordinated display. Although each house has a separate aura, or swagger, the overall outlay of each house radiates with the same warm feeling as the next. Inspirational messages litter the campus, encouraging students, welcoming family, or for the alumni who, more often than not, wish they were back.
The festivities taking place late Friday night led to a hard, early Saturday morning at OSU. It was a homecoming game day. The campus hosted the Sea of Orange parade on homecoming weekend before the football game later in the evening. The insidious weather was an unbecoming reality, the wind was a harsh, unforgiving blast of air, whipping and spraying all who braved the cruel reality of nature. It was a fight for survival against the hurricane that was taking place in Stillwater, and, against all the odds, thousands of supporters still flooded the city, lining the streets to catch a glimpse of the idolized event. The arrival of the parade was announced by the Alumni association and serenaded by the bright orange marching band. The
