Fall is finally in the air, and the change in the season is sweeping Homecoming Week onto the Dixie State College campus.
Though Homecoming Week carries certain traditions with it, those in charge of the events this year added a few new things they hope will make the week better than ever.
Members of the DSC Student Association picked the theme, activities and traditions with the student experience in mind.
“I really want the students to feel invested at Dixie, and Homecoming Week gives them something to invest in and get excited about,” said Student Body President Brody Mikesell, a senior integrated studies major from Henefer.
Mikesell said the activities, both old and new, were picked and planned to give Homecoming at DSC a more “collegiate feel.”
“We are doing a pep rally with a bonfire and a car smash, which we have never done before,” Mikesell said. “We are handing out shirts at the game, and we have several other new activities planned to help students really get involved.”
The theme for Homecoming this year is “Living the Dixie Life.” Sami Warnick, DSCSA vice president of student life and a senior business major from Wanship, said one of the goals for this year’s Homecoming was to portray what the Dixie life is really about.
Stefanie Higginson, DSC coordinator of student life, agreed with Warnick and said she hopes the week will encourage students to invest in the Dixie spirit and want to stay involved at the school.
“At all of our planning meetings, we talk about the fact that the reason we are all here, planning Homecoming, is because at one point we were regular students going to activities,” Higginson said. “We were impacted somehow, and it made us want to be involved.”
While Homecoming Week brings activities based mainly around current DSC students, it is first and foremost a time for alumni and community members to show their love and support for the college and its heritage.
“We have made a really big effort to advertise to the community and alumni because we really want to keep that community tie on campus,” Higginson said.
Homecoming isn’t just for the students currently at DSC.
“Homecoming is the time of year that focuses on alumni returning to their school and really connecting with their alma mater, but it is also a perfect time for students to develop that love for their school that will make them want to come back as alumni later,” said Dean of Students Del Beatty.
Beatty, Warnick, Higginson and Mikesell all agreed that the best way to make the most out of Homecoming Week is to be involved in the activities.
“Even if you can’t make it to all of the activities, come to the ones that you can and really try to experience everything,” Mikesell said. “This is a week for the students, and we want them to feel like the campus culture is especially for them throughout the week.”
Even if the budget is tight, or free time is limited, students are encouraged to come be a part of the campus celebration this week.
“Look at the schedule and come to everything you can,” Warnick said. “The only activity that isn’t free to students is the Miss Dixie Pageant, and even that’s only $5.”
There are activities every day of Homecoming Week. It started with the Kickoff on Monday morning and will end with the Haunted Homecoming Dance and True Rebel Saturday night.
