Friday, November 1, 1996
HOMECOMING:
Student participation of event has declined immenselyBy Rachel
Kelley
Daily Bruin Contributor
Imagine a hundred thousand people united by a common spirit, a
common goal, a common school which fewer than one thousand students
could truly call home at the time. One might assume that this scene
describes a protest or a celebrity event, but this affair, once
referred to as "the greatest event in history," was UCLA’s
Homecoming 1949.
So what happened?
Somewhere along the line, the connection between the football
team and Homecoming festivities weakened, which minimized school
spirit, said Raymond Goldstone, dean emeritus of students.
"Going back to the genesis of Homecoming, it was the homecoming
of a football team that had gone on a road trip that everybody
celebrated," said Goldstone. "It was truly based on school
spirit."
But according to the dean of students, there are additional
reasons for the demise of the Homecoming spirit.
"Too much emphasis has been placed on who can build the most
expensive, fanciest float, and who would make the ideal king and
queen," Goldstone said.
"It’s always struck me that kings and queens don’t make much
sense. I would just assume not have them. (Not having royalty would
be) better than having it be a beauty contest."
However, according to some students, this mentality isn’t quite
so bad.
"In high school, Homecoming was purely a popularity competition
and that’s how it should be," said second-year undeclared student
Michael Hoeft.
But Homecoming in high school was on a much smaller scale, and
according to one student, it is the size of UCLA that deters from
school spirit.
"I liked Homecoming in high school better because I knew
everyone. It was more like a family, so naturally we had a lot of
spirit," said second-year undeclared student Shelly Beer.
The Student Alumni Association recently conducted a survey to
find out why more students do not participate in Homecoming
festivities.
"What seems to have happened is that there is a financial
resource problem for student groups. It has come down to the more
money a group has to spend on a float is who wins the prize," said
Lisa Petty, program supporter for Homecoming.
Campus Events and the Student Alumni Association have made many
attempts to bring back the spirit associated with traditional
Homecomings.
Campus Events tried to find a drag queen this year to spice
things up, according to Joe Liu, campus events commissioner.
"Homecoming (selection process) was kind of dumped on us, so we
decided to put our own crazy twist on it," he said.
However, a search for a cross-dresser left Campus Events
empty-handed. Nobody would go through with it, Liu added with
disappointment.
Goldstone referred to the search for a drag queen as a "sign of
desperation," and said that Homecoming has been a struggle between
making it a spirited, enjoyable event or a competitive event. But
Goldstone questioned whether anyone would participate if Homecoming
were non-competitive.
"I’m going to the game just because it is another football
game," said first-year computer science and engineering student
Dave Boggs.
Bruin Life
(yearbook caption – 1949) Westwood awakened to the fact that it
was a college town when Sherrill Luke rallied UCLA spirit around
him in an informal presentation through the streets.