Column: Homecoming needs less pomp, more service
Published Oct. 19, 2007
I was sitting in the library the other night, dutifully studying for a test — actually, I was reading back issues of the Sporting News. In any case, I was sitting there, wondering who would be stupid enough to sign Kip Wells this off-season, when all of a sudden I heard an almighty roar coming from Francis Quadrangle. I was elated.
"Finally," I said to myself, "my fellow students have decided to throw off their shackles and exact revenge upon the administration for its unmitigated gall at paying professors next to nothing."
I was shocked to hear that it was the Greek community that had congregated on the Quad. Now, I know many Greek students. Most of the girls are pretty cool, they get their work done, etc. But the fraternity boys I know are a different story altogether. Sure, most of them are cool people, but they might be some of the laziest people I have ever met (excluding myself). That's not to say that all fraternity boys are inherently lazy, but the ones I know are. Even so, these men had summoned the will to toss aside their Nattys and Keystones and trudge the interminable half mile from Greektown to the Quad.
Apparently, the various fraternities and sororities had come together to hear Homecoming announcements.
I have no idea what those are, but suffice to say, they involve the Greek community. And Homecoming. And announcing shit. In any case, what struck me the most about this congregation was the energy involved. I have never in my three years at this incredibly apathetic school, seen anything come close to the excitement displayed on Tuesday night except at football games.
This got me thinking, as is my wont. I asked myself a question, loyal readers, as is also my wont. What could the Greek community put this energy toward?
I was sitting and ruminating upon this, when suddenly, the heavens parted and a great light came streaming down from on high. I felt like Moses being handed the Ten Commandments or like the guy who discovered that people would pay for bottled water.
Help people: That's what the Greek community could do with all of its time and money and effort.
Now, I don't want to start another Friesen-gate. I'll leave that to the man himself, so let me be clear on this: I understand that the Greek community does much philanthropy, and that's an excellent thing. I know that philanthropy is a big part of Greek Week, and that's awesome, but wouldn't it be nice to make some form of community service more of a part of Homecoming as well? I am fully aware of the blood drive, but I saw some of my Greek friends downtown Wednesday decorating private businesses. Some of my friends have to pomp endlessly in the weeks leading up to Homecoming. It strikes me as sort of pointless to spend all this time building shit that will just be washed off or thrown away.
So here's my idea: Keep the tradition of Homecoming alive, keep the parade and all that other stuff, but make community service part of the competition. Ditch pomping. Nobody likes pomping, anyway. It's just a technique that was used to decorate floats before people had paint (or something), and it's only continued because of "tradition" and to make alumni happy.
I think that most Greek students would be less stressed, happier and more fulfilled if pomping was replaced with some form of painting, and all the energy that goes toward building floats went toward building a house for a needy family or tutoring kids who need extra help after school.
Do I expect things to change? Of course not. There's no way that anybody at MU will try to challenge the norms and make a change for the better.
avtty5@mizzou.edu