Students, alumni and faculty braved the cold weather to watch a shortened version of the annual homecoming parade on Saturday.
The homecoming theme for 2014 was the 1990s with the tag: “Who Says You Can’t Come Home?” Each club chose an additional theme that fit the decade, ranging from movies and television shows to video games and more.
Social service clubs and the freshmen class spend weeks planning the parade for the Saturday morning of homecoming.
“The parade is really fun,” Lauren Shann, Gamma Rho homecoming director, said. “You get to show off the float that you’ve been working hard on.”
During the parade, each float traverses the Wilson Way loop as alumni, visitors, friends and family watch. Most club members dress up according to their float theme and walk along side of it. Due to Saturday’s cold weather, the clubs displayed their floats for one lap, instead of the traditional two laps.
Gamma Rho won homecoming with the 90’s sitcom“Friends” as their theme.
Senior Jessica Thompson, Theta Theta Theta homecoming director, said the overall homecoming theme was appropriate for the alumni from the 1990s and for the students who were born in the decade.
Amy Roberts, director of freshman experience, said homecoming is a special weekend for alumni to reflect on their time as students.
“I think that OC is a special place, and you have all these wonderful memories,” Roberts said. “So, it’s this one weekend where you just kind of see everyone and relive those special moments.”
Roberts said the parade is a special part of homecoming because it makes alumni feel more connected to the current student body through their former club.
“It’s fun to see your club, what they’re doing and how they’re succeeding and representing on campus,” Roberts said. “It gives you a little bit of a personal tie.”
The parade is a student-driven event, requiring club members to work long hours building floats and making costumes.
“I helped do a float, but I had never directed a float for homecoming,” Thompson said. “So, I just had to be creative about how to build a float and how to direct a float.”
First-year college students also participate in homecoming activities as their own club. Freshman Kaydee Keene said she enjoyed the freshman class theme based on the movie “The Sandlot” and appreciated the effort of her classmates throughout the float building.
“I’m really impressed with it,” Keene said. “They put a lot of hard work into it. I think… it was a great theme.”
Shann said all of the hard work put into building the floats and preparing for the parade is good for developing club unity.
“You get to know your sisters more when you’re working together for long hours on the float,” Shann said. “So, it’s a good bonding experience.”
Roberts said the dedication of clubs on campus is something all alumni can appreciate, despite which club they may have been involved in themselves.
“A lot of clubs change, come and go, but, even if your club is gone, there is still an appreciation for the club system,” Roberts said. “Those alums still like to see the effort that clubs have put into the floats and to the different things on campus.”
Although Gamma Rho won overall, the men of Chi Lambda Phi had the winning float with a “Braveheart” theme.
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