Opinion
Campus digs deep for spirit
October 27, 2006
Since the year began, it has been difficult for me to find any school spirit whatsoever. It really seemed that support for athletics or any organization for that matter did not exist here at UW-River Falls. But as soon as Homecoming week began so did the support for the school, and as the week progressed I was surprised to see that nearly every group and organization supports each other in at least one way.
It was absolutely amazing to see how many students really are active on campus. Participation seemed to grow as the events progressed throughout the week.
Each time I walked into the Student Center I observed dozens of students dumping buckets of change into their organization’s container, and others bring- ing in bags of food and hygiene supplies to their proper areas. It is amazing to watch completely broke college students donate so much to help others in need.
I walked into North Hall last Wednesday night for the Lip Sync contest and saw a completely full house. Students sat on the floor, stood in the back of the auditorium, and found walls to lean up against along the rows of seats to watch their groups perform. One group even brought in a futon to sit on. Instead of booing and disrupting the other performances, students gladly supported every group that performed and seemed to enjoy the entire program.
On Saturday morning organizations put the final touches on their floats for the first downtown parade in more than 20 years. Despite the bitter cold weather, their dedication and creativity prevailed. I saw group leaders conversing with other leaders. They talked about how many hours and how many people it took to make their floats, and before parting they wished each other luck in the float judging. The parade route was lined with numerous students to show their support for the different organizations, along with the community and alumni. It was a blast seeing what each group was able to come up with.
The winning organization, Theta Chi, spent nearly $400 on its giant red bull-themed float (not to mention they only won back $300 in prize money).
After the parade the organizations rode their floats to Ramer Field and sat with each other during the game. Aside from the organizations, students and alumni filled the stands. Only a scattered number of seats were left, compared to past games with sparse crowds and very little team support.
The halftime program informed the organizations who came out on top in each area of competition. The king and queen were also recognized (Anna Parsons from Sigma Sigma Sigma and Cale Richter from Alpha Gamma Rho).
With all of the excitement of Homecoming week, students seemed to find a common unity. Students and alumni were able to get together at both the parade and football game. With the crowd and exciting environment, the football team was able to come out with the win. So maybe support for athletics and other organizations does help in the success of each program.
Sara Hauer is a student at UW-River Falls.