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 A boy dressed as Mario waits for candy during the University of Idaho homecoming parade Saturday. This year’s parade featured 150 floats, many of them giving out candy. Ilya Pinchuck/Argonaut
Skits celebrate years of traditions
Students gathered in the Student Union Building Ballroom Wednesday night to observe the creativity of skits that incorporated 100 years of Vandal tradition.
Every living group on campus was assigned a different time period and encompassed the traditions within their skits.
Chelsea Goicoechea, a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, attended the skits and says it is her favorite part of homecoming week.
“I enjoyed the skits this year,” said Goicoechea, “especially because
the theme really accentuated our school’s highlights and traditions.”
Kappa Alpha Theta and Delta Sigma Phi’s skit involved the traditions of
football in the Kibbie Dome and graduation. Many other skits mocked
the new additions
to tailgating.
The big surprise of their skit was the appearance of Robb Akey. Akey
rallied and motivated the audience for Saturday’s Louisiana Tech game.
“You’re going to graduate from the University Of Idaho, but tradition
never dies. Do good in class this week and party your tail off on
Saturday,” Akey said. “Be in the Dome and be loud. We are going to
start a new tradition at the university and it will be a series of bowl
games. Once a Vandal, always a Vandal.”
Other skits included traditions of the Lionel Hampton School of Music,
mulit-cultural dorms, Teddy Roosevelt planting the tree in the
Administration Lawn, the Spanish-American War Statue, the I-bench, the
serpentine and many more that can be found in the university’s
I-Book.
Homecoming parade features BEAR, alumni
A timeline of Idaho’s greatest traditions were presented in the homecoming parade Saturday.
Idaho celebrated 100 years of homecoming on Halloween. The streets were filled with spectators wearing Vandal gear, as well as many wearing Halloween costumes.
Highlights of the parade included floats made by different living groups that focused on different decades in the last 100 years. The parade began with depictions from 1910 and continued through 2009. Alpha Kappa Lambda and Kappa Delta received first prize in the float competition.
Floats were also decorated and sponsored by the community and other campus groups.
B.E.A.R, or Brotherhood Empowerment Against Rape, introduced a bear mascot to target a younger age group.
“B.E.A.R’s mission is to protect the women in our lives against mental, physical and mostly sexual violence, and to set an example of how we can stand against this violence with a nonviolent approach,” said Caleb Gilmour, a sophomore business major and member of B.E.A.R. “And by having a mascot, we can spread our name and let children know who we are.”
Another highlight was the numerous amounts of local bands of all ages that came to perform at the parade. Marching band alumni reunited and played the Vandal fight song. All the bands performed the national anthem together, from elementary school bands to the alumni band at the football game.
Nicole Hadley, a junior psychology major and member of the Student Alumni Relations Board, helped by pushing around a shopping cart and collecting food during the parade.
“People donate food to the Moscow Food Bank, and it is a tradition that has been done for many years in the parade,” said Hadley. “SArb hosted several events for the alumni, and some SArb alumni volunteered and walked shopping carts.”
John Jacobs, a 1986 UI graduate, is still a strong supporter of the Vandals.
“I love the Vandals and was very bummed I couldn’t make it to the parade this year. It is such a great way to get everyone pumped up for the homecoming game and support our community and Vandals,” said Jacobs.
The alumni office is currently taking applications for the 2010 homecoming committee.
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