{"id":6663,"date":"2017-11-08T02:04:04","date_gmt":"2017-11-08T10:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wou.edu\/westernjournal\/?p=6663"},"modified":"2017-11-07T21:13:57","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T05:13:57","slug":"homecoming-sparks-pride-western","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/homecoming-sparks-pride-western\/","title":{"rendered":"Homecoming sparks pride at Western"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sam Dunaway | News Editor<\/span><\/h5>\n

When the fire burns in the shape of a \u201cW,\u201d students gather to touch-up Western\u2019s logo on Church Street and hundreds take to the bleachers to cheer on the Wolves, it can only mean one thing: homecoming. <\/span><\/p>\n

The theme of the week, \u201cFeels like \u201897: 20 years of WOU,\u201d referred to the change from Western Oregon State College to Western Oregon University in 1997. The \u201890s theme spread throughout the week, from a throwback office decorating contest to a \u201890s trivia night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew Ciraulo helped plan the homecoming events in his second year as Director of the Student Activities Board.<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked what his favorite thing about homecoming is, he replied, \u201cI love that it\u2019s one week of events jam-packed and we always try to make something for everyone. It takes a lot of skill to put on a whole week and make it go successful, but I think everyone\u2019s doing a great job.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really great time to show your WOU spirit and show all the reasons why you chose to go to WOU and why you love WOU,\u201d Ciraulo added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the week culminated at the football game on Saturday, there were several events that all students, including the non-sports enthusiasts, could engage in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by Madison Hocker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Carnival<\/strong><\/p>\n

The festive week kicked off with the carnival. This brand new event set the tone for the rest of the week featuring carnival games, food and, most importantly, prizes. Games like plinko, ring toss and bingo created a genuine carnival feel. A \u201ctest your strength\u201d hammer game inspired competition and determination to ring the bell at the top of the tower. The \u201890s theme prompted a \u201cpin the crown on Biggie Smalls\u201d game and a Central Perk sitting area.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, I love any event that has free food,\u201d senior Amy Watkins remarked. \u201cSAB always does a great job with trying new traditions \u2026 and I love that the whole event incorporated the \u201890s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Paint the Town Red<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paint the Town Red was a new homecoming tradition that encouraged clubs and organizations to help decorate windows in businesses around Monmouth. 14 businesses in downtown Monmouth displayed the spirit of homecoming for the whole town to see.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know that businesses want to be more connected with the university,\u201d commented Kelsey Elam-Geuting, Coordinator for Organization and Activities at Western.<\/span><\/p>\n

Miriam Haugen, owner of Haugen\u2019s Galleri, enjoyed the event; \u201cI think it\u2019s really a great way to increase the connection between the business community and the college and show support. We\u2019re all in it together,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Haunted House<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oct. 31 has come and gone, and the giant sequoia is being ornamented with lights, but it\u2019s never too late for a spooky haunted house for those who are feeling the post-Halloween blues. A traveling haunted house company set up the spine-tingling attraction in the Pacific Room, and a line almost out the door was filled with eager students ready to be spooked. Frightening jump scares, creepy dolls and terrifyingly tight paths intensified the fear. <\/span><\/p>\n

Theatre students and other volunteers played \u201chaunters\u201d in the dark and creepy maze. \u201cIt was fun,\u201d senior Lindsay Spear commented. \u201cEven for someone like me who is terrified by haunted houses.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The haunted house was a good opportunity to connect the fun of homecoming week with the terror of Halloween. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by Paul F. Davis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bonfire<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the bleak and rainy weather that troubled Monmouth during homecoming week, the annual bonfire raged on after Friday\u2019s Powderpuff game. The event, which usually occurs at the beginning of the week, deliberately took place on Friday evening to increase excitement and spirit for the next day\u2019s homecoming football game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe one thing I want to make sure we do is get the whole school involved,\u201d Ciraulo remarked.<\/span><\/p>\n

The football team attended the bonfire to light the \u201cW,\u201d cheerleaders pumped up the crowd for the game and the annual pie eating contest provided hilarious entertainment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo by Paul F. Davis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Royalty<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not only did Saturday bring the much anticipated homecoming football game, it also brought the crowning of the Wolf Royalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Efra Quevedo and Poka Matagi had the honor of being selected as Wolf Royalty for Homecoming 2017. Quevedo is the Treasurer of Omega Delta Phi fraternity and President of the Fraternity and Sorority Council, the Student Coordinator for the Upward Bound program and volunteers as a Multicultural Representative mentor. Matagi is Vice President of Western\u2019s Kappa Delta Chi chapter, as well as a Multicultural Representative mentor with the Multicultural Student Services and Programs office. Both Quevedo and Matagi are serving in Costa Rica this December and volunteering with at-risk youth in impoverished areas. <\/span><\/p>\n

The crown was awarded to current Western seniors who have been nominated by students, organizations and staff members. In years past, the two Wolf Royalty individuals were chosen solely by popular vote. This year, however, the nominees underwent an interview process to be eligible for Wolf Royalty. The nominees were given scores in the interview based on the core values that Western leaders should possess: excellence, diversity and respect, and sustainability and stewardship. The score from their interview combined with the popular vote score decided which individuals received the crown.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sam Dunaway | News Editor When the fire burns in the shape of a \u201cW,\u201d students gather to touch-up Western\u2019s logo on Church Street and hundreds take to the bleachers to cheer on the Wolves, it can only mean one thing: homecoming. The theme of the week, \u201cFeels like \u201897: 20 years of WOU,\u201d referred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1017,"featured_media":6664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"modified_by":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1017"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}