The U is a great school with some great qualities. We’ve got entertaining professors and Crimson Nights, a nice library and a beautiful campus. However, there’s one thing this school is missing: a homecoming parade. College homecomings should have a homecoming parade, especially when it’s the oldest and best college in the state. How can we call ourselves the best if we don’t even have a parade?
Imagine if all the school pride from every school club at the U that participates in homecoming week were to be given a single two-hour event with floats, banners, dancers, the band, the cheerleaders, the MUSS, and all the glorious resources of the U. With a homecoming parade, we could take over Salt Lake City. Think about it. Who doesn’t want to build a float and walk around in a row for a few miles and throw candy at kids?
What is homecoming? It’s exactly what it sounds like. It’s a time when current students and previous students can come together and celebrate the awesomeness of their school. Unfortunately, not all past students have the time or money to take their whole family to the homecoming football game. But they can’t just be the person who doesn’t support their old college at all. A parade for everyone to attend would be the perfect middle ground.
An advantage of having a homecoming parade, other than to shove it in BYU’s face, would be the advertisement that the school’s clubs would get. It’s hard to get our clubs out to the public, being on a hill, in a little corner of the city, away from the people who could potentially be supporting us. Our school clubs could have a contest to see who has the best float. The recycling club’s float could be made out of recycled materials. All the sororities and fraternities could get involved — it would be great exercise and it could show the whole city how united and supportive we are as a school. People would be able to enjoy a U event without having to pay for it, so the whole family could join in. It would get little kids excited about a great school and show them we’re about more than just football. The high school senior who wants to choose a school less revolved around sports would see how many options he or she truly has here. Different parts of the school would be individually advertised, but we would be publicly united as one school.
In high school, I had a homecoming parade. The homecoming queen had her own float and every club built floats and walked around the town and played music and passed out candy. The whole town loved it. Now, what if my mid-sized high school had the school spirit, talent, and amount of clubs as the U? It would have been unstoppable. I guess colleges don’t really do this, but if this school is as amazing as we all think it is, we should prove it.