Living groups decorate with the Vandal Spirit– UI living groups decorate space, compete in homecoming competition

This time of year, living groups across campus are getting in the spirit of decoration – and it is not for Halloween.

As part of Homecoming Week, living groups will decorate their living spaces to this year”s theme, A Hero”s Homecoming.

Emily Rasch, Homecoming Committee chair, said she thinks this year”s theme will allow residents of living groups to use their imagination.

“We”re really excited,” Rasch said. “We think it”s going to allow for a lot of creativity this year and for teams to get really into the theme and show their interpretation of the theme.”

Interpretation, Rasch said, has already gone a couple different directions, with some living groups choosing to focus on superheroes and others using more realistic heroes like doctors or soldiers as their muse.

Residents have until Friday to decorate their living spaces to the theme. Many began decorating on Wednesday, including sorority members of Gamma Phi Beta.

Taylor Howell, activities chair of Gamma Phi Beta, said the sorority will partner with fraternity members from Alpha Kappa Lambda this year to come up with ideas for their houses.

After a meeting and a vote, Howell said the members decided to go with the idea of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy from the cartoon series “Spongebob Squarepants.”

Howell said the suggestion was originally made as a joke, but it caught on among members from each house.

She said the sorority has made plans to decorate their house to look like a pineapple, in reference to Spongebob”s pineapple house in the series.

Gamma Phi Beta and other living groups will showcase floats – themed with their house decorations – at the Homecoming Parade Saturday. Residents may dress up in costumes.

“Usually the house gets pretty into it,” Howell said.

Each house has a $150 budget to participate in the contest.

“It”s really impressive sometimes the decorations that they come up with,” Rasch said.

Last year was no exception.

Rasch said many Greek houses got into the theme, “Once Upon A Homecoming,” by decorating floats based on fairytales. Themes ranged everywhere from “Mulan” to “Frozen.”

Rasch said thousands of people, students and alumni, see the decorations every year as they gather in Moscow for Homecoming Week.

She said judges will look for creativity, living group pride and originality when awarding homecoming points.

Living space judging will begin at 2 p.m. Friday.

Residents are also allowed to enter a festive banner into the contest for their living group.

Winners in the three categories – fraternities, sororities and residence halls – will be announced at the Idaho Vandals football game Saturday.

“We”re really excited to see the superheroes that come out this year,” Rasch said.

Taylor Nadauld  can be reached at  [email protected]  or on Twitter @tnadaul

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