Coming right around the corner is one of the biggest events of the year: Homecoming! Homecoming is the time of the semester when everyone gets to come together for some fun campus rivalries boosted by the lipsync battle and service.
“Every year will look a little different due to having different people on the Executive Committee,” Executive Director Lexi Harper said. “This Homecoming our planning started around Thanksgiving of last year. Our process started with Ashley (the Homecoming Advisor) and me choosing our executive committee, we do this through an interview process. After we had all of our Exec positions filled, we then moved into a transition period where we made sure that everyone knew what they needed to do in their respective positions.”
After deciding on the team, the group decides on the theme for Homecoming. Depending on the executive director each year, the committee might have a say in the theme.
“When I took over as the ED in 2023, I took a more collaborative approach that involved my committee’s involvement. We start by looking at previous years’ themes and jotting down ideas that haven’t been done yet. Then we look at how our student organizations would be able to use it for their competitions. Making sure that it is easy to use for them.”
This year’s theme is Camp OCU which stemmed from the wonderlike joy most students had from going to summer camps as a young child.
“This year we approached it as if we were camp directors for a summer camp. One of the first things we do is create a mood board of sense that guides us. This involves spending a lot of time on Pinterest.”
An important aspect of planning Homecoming is making sure that every group feels like they have equal opportunities to compete in all of the festivities.
“This is one of the reasons that we have our Blue and Silver divisions. We do not want to make a brand-new organization with ten members who have to compete with our already established sororities which have around seventy members each. Due to this, we focus heavily on making Homecoming more appealing to our smaller orgs. I love Homecoming so much on our campus, so I am continuously looking for ways to reach as many students as possible.”
Since the pandemic, Homecoming has involved a service aspect to the competition. In years past, the groups would be judged on how many service hours they racked up. This caused organizations to become extremely competitive to the point of requiring members to have over a day’s worth of service hours to help win the title. This year, however, the Homecoming Committee has decided to do without it.
“The Office of Student Affairs alongside Ashley Palmer and I decided that due to the competitiveness to remove service hours. As the Executive Director, I strive to ensure that Homecoming is safe, fun, and as stress-free as possible for our students.”
This year, the service part is now focused on OKConnect, the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, Tenaciously Teal, Resource Pantry of Hope, and OCU Serves.
“As a committee, we saw how impactful our book drive last year was, as we collected over 3,000 children’s books that we donated to local non-profits in OKC and wanted to continue to challenge the OCU community to give back.”
The entire team has put so much work into planning. From making a fun theme to reworking aspects to ensure everyone is able to be a part of Homecoming in some way.
“There is so much that goes into Homecoming, and I truly could not plan without the help of my passionate committee. They have worked so hard in their respective positions, and I could not be prouder of each of them.”
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