10C
HOMECOMING
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN MONDAY,OCTOBER 5,2009
PARADE
Student groups spend hours creating floats
BY COURTNEY BULLIS
cbullis@kansan.com
Homecoming Week is full of traditions and memories that many students can celebrate. Competitive events that take place all week, such as Chalk N' Rock and the 3 v. 3 Basketball Tournament, are assessed on a certain number of points.
Each year, one event that gets many entries and is shown great attention is the tradition of building floats for the homecoming parade. The group with the most points wins the Best Overall Homecoming Award. The most points an organization can win is by building a float for the homecoming parade.
The homecoming parade along Jayhawk Boulevard consists of groups such as the Marching Jayhawks, the grand marshal, alumni, fraternities, sororities, high school bands and more.
decorated vehicles and KU banners.
The entry categories for the homecoming parade are mobile floats with moving parts, mobile floats with non-moving parts,
"Anyone or organization can build a float or be a part of the parade as long as they turn in an application," Joey Stromberg, Sterling junior and Homecoming Steering Committee member, said.
Each group that entered the float competition had to write a short paragraph to explain its group
and describe its entry. Each float description had to incorporate the homecoming theme. "Peace. Love Jayhaws."
When it comes to building floats, sororities and fraternities team up to pool resources.
building of the structure is up to the fraternity and then the girls come in and work on decorating the float with pomps."
"There is a lot of work that goes into planning,building and budgeting for the float."
Pompps are small squares of colorful tissue paper that are used to fill in the chicken wire that makes up the frame of the float. Other parades, such as the Rose Bowl Parade, use flowers or other colorful material. Pomp sheets
AMY CHESSHIR Columbia, Mo., senior
There is a lot of work that goes into planning, building and budgeting for the float", Amy Cheshir, Columbia, Mo., senior and member of sorority Kappa Delta, said. "The actual
Contributed photo
have caught on at the University because they are a cheaper, easier alternative to flowers. University groups use chicken wire, two-by-fours and glue in addition to pumps.
lasts until the day of the parade, everyone prepares for the parade. Student groups begin their floats about a week before the parade and work on them every evening.
Members of sorority Sigma Kappa wave near the beginning of the 2008 homecoming parade. Student groups design and build floats for the parade each year.
After planning,
building and pumping
the float together,
which in some cases
"We never have it done the night before." Brian Hibernkern, Eagan, Minn., junior, said. "We are always working on it the morning of, putting final touches on it."
For some groups, such as Haberkorn's fraternity Sigma Alpha Epsilon, these floats have a deeper meaning than just trying to win a prize.
"For SAE, the homecoming parade float has always been thought as a big tradition for the house and we work really hard to keep the tradition alive," Haberkorn said.
The homecoming parade on Saturday begins at approximately 10 a.m. The parade begins at the Kansas Union and follows Jayhawk Boulevard to the Chi Omega fountain.
The Lawrence community, alumni and University students are expected to attend the parade and to be a part of the tradition.
"I marched in the KU band when I went to school so I come back and march for the alumni band in the
parade," Mary Lynn Blacklock said. "I like to be on campus because there are just a lot of good memories for me."
Other students agree.
"Homecoming is definitely something I look forward to every day."
year because seeing the whole Lawrence community come out and support the parade and the school is a lot of fun," Chesshir said.
- Edited by Tim Burgess
EVENTS
Activities build KU spirit during Homecoming Week
BY COURTNEY BULLIS
cbullis@kansan.com
With midterms around the corner, student can take a break from studying this week by showing their KU spirit. During Homecoming Week, students can participate in alumni and student-related activities leading up to the football game against the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday.
Students stop for free chicken legs and donated Burger King crowns last year on Wescote Beach as a part of Medieval Monday. Free food will be available on Wescote Beach again this year from noon to 1 p.m. today.
Since last Saturday, students have been able to participate in various homecoming events to earn points for the Homecoming Award. Each event is assigned a certain amount of points that will be added together at the end of the week to determine first, second and third-place winners. The point system is set up in two separate groups, one for student life and one
HOMECOMING
WEEK SCHEDULE
**WHAT:** Homecoming Week
**WHEN:** Monday to Saturday
**WHERE:** Around campus
**WHY:** To celebrate KU spirit and traditions with students and alumni.
To see a full schedule of events and to learn about the history of homecoming, visit http://www.homecoming.ku.edu/
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for greek life, so that everyone on campus has a chance to participate individually or in groups.
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The Homecoming Steering Committee has worked to make this year's homecoming events a combination of new and old that focus not only on KU spirit and tradition but also on involvement of the Lawrence community. Fun Day Monday, Chalk N' Rock and
"The events are a great way to show school spirit and take part in a long-standing tradition at KU". Megan Do, Wichita junior and homecoming special events cochairwoman, said.
Crimson and Blue Day will be taking place on Wescoe Beach, serving as homecoming reminders in the middle of campus.
This year, Homecoming Week began with the Homecoming
Steering Committee said Girl Talk was booked because the members wanted a big draw for the start of the week's festivities.
"We really wanted to hype up homecoming this year since it's such a big year for KU football and the University in general," Do said. "We want students to get excited about homecoming and have school spirit and Girl Talk is the perfect artist to pump people up."
Another student favorite is the annual Pancake Feed, which will take place the day of the homecoming parade from 7:30 a.m. to noon on the lawn of Stauffer-Flint Hall. For $5, anyone can have all-you-can-eat pancakes supplied by Chris Cakes from the Kansas City area.
The I Spy: Peace, Love, Jayhawks competition is a week-long scavenger hunt. Daily clues will be printed in The Kansan and participants will have to photograph the object or building in the clue.
"The events are a great way to show school spirit and take part in a long-standing tradition at KU."
If running around campus in a mad dash for points doesn't sound like fun, students can showcase their artistic skills by signing up to draw murals centered around the Peace, Love, Jayhawk theme on the sidewalk with chalk for Chalk n' Rock. This will take place on Wescoe Beach from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday.
Kickoff Concert at Abe & Jake's Landing, 8 E. Sixth St., where national recording artist Girl Talk performed Thursday for a soldout show of 750 people. SUA members and the Homecoming
MEGAN DO Wichita junior
Another event is the 3-on-3 basketball tournament. This competition is open to all students at the University who register online at wwwku.atheleague.com. The games will take place beginning today and ending with the semi-finals
This year's homecoming comedy show, which is co-sponsored by SUA, features Kristen Schaal
and championship tomorrow at the Ambler Student Recreation and Fitness Center.
Kelly Unger, Overland Park junior, said she would definitely go to this year's comedy show because of the success of last year's.
and The Blanks. Students may recognize Schaal as Mel on the HBO show "Flight of the Conchords." The Blanks is a featured acapela group on the television show "Scrubs."
"Gabriel Iglesias was there last year performing and was really, really funny," Unger said.
Along with the events, students can enjoy the freebies that go along with Homecoming Week. Free chicken legs will be handed out to students today for Fun Day Monday from noon to 1 p.m. on Wescoe Beach.
Any student wearing crimson and blue on campus on Friday can pick up free KU spirit items such as crimson and blue beads, free cake, Jayhawk tattoos and stickers on Wesco Beach.
Homecoming Week is a time when students and alumni come
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"I really enjoy seeing all the different KU groups come together to support this one great cause," Candy Metzinger, Witchita junior.
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