Homecoming activites are one-week wonder

UW-River Falls’ Homecoming kicked off on Oct. 8 with its 2007 theme, “Wonders of the World.” The Homecoming Committee, led by Abby Maliszewski, had a variety of events and competitions planned for the week, beginning with the “Homecoming Kickoff.”

The “Homecoming Kickoff” was originally intended to take place on the University Center’s lawn but was moved to the Falcon’s Nest due to poor weather. The kickoff offered different activities for students, such as henna tattoos, an inflatable dartboard and obstacle course, while live music from Jester’s Panic and the Blend kept students entertained. Monday was also the designated day when UWRF students could begin to vote online for their favorite royalty couple.

Tuesday hosted a plethora of activities including the “Arid Architecture” and the “Ancient Fashion Show.” The “Arid Architecture” competition was held on the University Center lawn and consisted of teams constructing a six-man pyramid. Each team had one minute to stabilize their pyramid, and whichever team remained intact for the longest period of time won the competition. Although the wind refused to hinder and the temperature represented October accurately, 14 groups braved the weather to compete. While teeth chattered, audience supporters chanted to raise the morale of their participating groups. Sororities and fraternities could be heard throughout the entirety of the competition singing songs or chanting their groups’ cheers. A particular pyramid participant refused to allow weather or chanting groups to lead him astray from his task at hand. “I will not move. I feel no pain,” said Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) contender, Eric Voight. Even though many groups lasted longer than expected, it wasn’t long before the pyramids fell apart, one by one. However, AGR stayed strong and outlasted their competitors by maintaining their pyramid for 37 minutes.

Proceeding the “Arid Architecture” event was the “Ancient Fashion Show.” The runway competition took place in the Falcon’s Nest and was hosted by Abby Maliszewski and Mike Pearson. Each organization was to design and model a selected fashion from ancient times. Audience members saw costumes ranging from cavemen to Egyptians. After each candidate showed off their costume and runway talent, they were each asked a question by the hosts and occasionally by the judges. Dance Theater took third place in the competition, while Johnson Hall received second place. Winners of this particular competition were two sororities running together for Homecoming royalty: Alpha Sigma Alpha and Sigma Alpha. “Ancient Fashion Show” model and representative of Sigma Alpha, Brittany Babik was especially happy about the win.

“We’re excited since two sororities are running together. We’re making history by bringing the organizations together,” she said.

Wednesday brought the halfway point to the Homecoming week. The UWRF volleyball team took on UW-Stout in the UWRF Karges gym. Taking place before the volleyball game was the “Yell Like Hell” competition. This consisted of different competing organizations devising their own cheers and performing them for the audience that filled the gym. Dance Theater claimed the points for the “Yell Like Hell” competition.

The “Lip Sync” made its comeback on Thursday. The doors to the North Hall auditorium opened at 7:00 p.m., and students crowded in to take part of the “One Hit Wonder” competition. Each organization choreographed a dance to their favorite “one hit wonder” and had three minutes to share their talent with the audience. Sigma Sigma Sigma took third place, while Theta Chi was awarded second place for their efforts. Johnson Hall’s talent led them to first place in the 2007 “Lip Sync” competition.

The five days of the week were only a slight preview of Homecoming 2007 compared to the weekend’s events. Friday night held the long awaited foam party in Knowles arena. Students spent their Friday night dancing to music in a pit filled with foam up to their waist from a foam machine. Finally, game day arrived on Oct. 13 with the annual parade taking place in downtown River Falls. This was proceeded by a Homecoming BBQ and later, the UWRF football game versus UW-Eau Claire.

The UWRF Falcons ended their Homecoming week with a victory over UWEC with the 27-20 score reflecting on the scoreboard. 2007 royalty coronation entertained for halftime when Johnson Hall’s candidate couple, Clayton DeRemer and Tiffany Lay were crowned king and queen. However, the main highlight that caught most people’s attention Saturday afternoon seemed to be a unique display of nudity streaking across Ramer Field. During the football game, a Falcon fan decided to become a participant instead of a spectator when he ran across the field naked. The “streaker” made his way down the field and over the fence before heading towards a nearby wooded area. The incident held audience attention before their focus was turned back to the game as the Falcon football team secured a win in the last crucial minutes of the game.

To conclude the homecoming events, the “Big Event” was held outdoors in the Amphitheater. The “Big Event” was organized by UWRF’s Building Tomorrow group to fundraise for Kampala, Uganda. Students gathered to hear a variety of music including Shawn Mullins who took the stage at 8:00 p.m.

With the extensive amount of work that the 2007 Homecoming Committee put into this year’s events, many students enjoyed both participating and watching the activities.

“I think homecoming is really cool because it’s very different from the high school atmosphere and is a great way for organizations to not only meet each other but to find out what each one is about,” UWRF sophomore, Lenny Polzin said. “River Falls is a good size to organize many different events. I think it was a lot better than what people had initially imagined. It was well organized and cleanly run.”