Oct. 22nd marked the end of the 100th annual Eagle Family Homecoming event at Eastern Washington University.
In celebration of this landmark anniversary, the week of events was larger than ever with various new events including a “Walk Through the Decades,” the unveiling of a new spotlight on the EWU water tower and a firework-filled grand finale.
Walk Through the Decades
In the Walk Through the Decades event, 10 items per decade from the last 100 years were displayed for the public to see. Items ranged from sports memorabilia, to trophies won by the residence halls in various competitions to the head of the 1999 swoop mascot. Each decade was separated and presented alongside a poster sharing a snippet of campus history.
“I think it’s super awesome because they have been pulling artifacts for as long as there has been a homecoming. It is like a little museum tour,” said Michelle Schultz, Director for Student Engagement and one of the organizers of homecoming.
When approached by The Easterner, many attendees shared an appreciation for the historical items.
“I love seeing the change between then and now,” said Kim Davis, a staff member in attendance. “I am a lover of vintage, so I love the vintage fashion.”
“I think it is important to see the faces of the people before us. It is important to see where we came from,” said Morgan Hudson, another staff member.
Light the Eagle Tower
A permanent change to campus unveiled this homecoming was a new spotlight trained on the water tower next to Roos Field. Made possible by alumni donations, the installation is to illuminate the EWU logo on the tower all night, every night.
Homecoming Game and Post Game Fireworks
The homecoming football game against Weber State was a large one, with tailgating tickets sold out over 5 weeks before the match. To celebrate EWU’s victory and mark the end of homecoming week, fireworks were launched for the first time in institutional memory after the game. This grand finale was funded entirely by an anonymous alumni couple.
While there were many extravagant events this year, it is unlikely that Eagle Family Homecomings will continue to be held at this level.
“I don’t know that [the size of this year’s celebration] will be sustainable for years in the future, but this is meant to be special,” said Schultz.
Other events included the traditional kickoff, window painting, bonfire, bed races and more. Kelsey Hatch-Brecek, Director of Alumni Relations, talked about the homecoming planning team’s vision for the effect of the larger events.
“I think we were more intentional about what kinds of things would really have an impact on people for this once in a lifetime milestone. That is where the Walk Through the Decades comes in,” She said. “I think that it is bigger, but we have been more intentional about impact.”
Schultz added to this vision, saying that the events were meant to cater to a variety of student interests and abilities.
“There [was] something for just about everybody. If you’re more of an observer, if you [had] a team for the team challenge, your team [could] get bonus points just by attending an event and watching. So people [could] get involved, even if they’re not really rambunctious and wanting to be out there,” she said.
For Schultz, the importance of having such an inclusive environment was more personal.
“Homecoming is one of my favorite things in the world,” she said. “My biggest dream is that someone who’s a student right now, who is going to do my job in the future, finds that they found their niche on campus during homecoming.”
