Homecoming Mishaps

The official 2015 Homecoming schedule listed a total of 22 events, however, only 19 of those events came to fruition. “The Mirage” Bonfire, which was scheduled to take place at 10 p.m. in the Pavilion on the 13, along with the “Circus Circus” Carnival and Health Fair scheduled for the 14 at 11 a.m. were both cancelled. The highly anticipated Greek Show was also dropped from the schedule.
According to Student Government Association President Dominique Diamond, the bonfire was cancelled as result of a lack of dedicated manpower to actually setup the bonfire, which resulted in the university holding off on purchasing the permit for the event from the Fire Marshall.
“Time is everything,” stated Diamond. “They weren’t able to get everything done in time. We didn’t want to pay to get it approved without assurance that someone was going to be able to commit to building it.”
As far as the Health Fair, Diamond explained that the event didn’t pertain to SGA, referring all questions to the Health Center. The Greek Show, however, Diamond explained as lacking on the part of the SU Greeks, and the cancellation a decision from the Pan-Hellenic Council.
“Participation was one of the main factors in the cancellation,” Diamond said. “I didn’t want students paying 10 dollars to see only three or four acts, when we have the whole Divine Nine here.”
A major concern for majority of students was the absence of Homecoming T-Shirts at the Pep Rally.
“Getting things done and paid for, here at Southern University, is a process,” Diamond started. “I signed off on the payment for shirts in September. The company making the shirts didn’t receive their payments in enough time to have them (the shirts) for the pep rally.”
Diamond went on to explain that once the company received the money, they began manufacturing the shirts, which arrived Friday night, and resulted in distribution mid-Saturday, before the game. Diamond also mentioned that he would be scheduling a day this week to pass out the shirts.
“I really wish we would have been able to fulfill everything set on the homecoming calendar, but at the same time, time is everything, and you just have to respect it.” stated Diamond.
Diamond did mention the alternative events that took place, such as the Greek tailgate that took place in front of Blanks Hall, and the fact that he thought that, while they didn’t replace the originally scheduled events, they were still “pretty cool”.