Last week, the University of North Georgia hosted its Homecoming week. Activities included decorating competitions, basketball games and the Homecoming After Dark dance.
According to ESPN, the idea of Homecoming began at the University of Missouri in 1911. This homecoming celebration originally started as an opportunity for alumni to come back to campus and watch a football game. After the University of Missouri started this tradition, other colleges picked up the idea and expanded homecoming even further.
However, at UNG, Homecoming Week is capped off with a basketball game because the Nighthawks do not have a football team. The Homecoming theme was “There’s No Place Like UNG,” tapping into the popularity of the musical “Wicked.” According to the UNG Office of Student Involvement’s Instagram post, the UNG’s homecoming week was “celebrating the unique spirit, pride, and community that make our university feel like home.”
Some students say they weren’t even aware it was Homecoming. Margo Perry, a senior kinesiology major, said, “No, I did not go to any homecoming events. I was slightly aware of it only because I work in the athletics department. However, it wasn’t widely advertised.”
UNG posted updates on the Office of Student Involvement Instagram page, and there were flyers posted around the Dahlonega campus. However, UNG’s main Instagram page did not post anything about the events.
On the Cumming campus, there were door decorating competitions. For the language labs, it was a competition to see who could decorate the best-looking door with the theme.
The Homecoming highlight was a double-header basketball game for the Men’s and Women’s teams. The Men’s team beat the University of South Carolina Beaufort in overtime 96-90. AJ White was the leading scorer for the Nighthawks, and Emily Trushel scored a new career-high of 33 points for the women’s team, which won against USC Beaufort 91-54.
The Homecoming After Dark dance was hosted on the Dahlonega campus and included music, dancing, free food and giveaways.
Lilyana Hernandez, a sophomore kinesiology major, said, “I only knew about the day (Saturday) that the basketball Instagram page posted something. Homecoming wasn’t advertised as anything.”
Another student, Faith Bullied, a junior criminal justice major, said “I would have gone, but I didn’t know anything about it. I feel like snow day was better advertised than Homecoming week.”
