A Welcome Back Party for Alumni!

Homecoming is an annual event held across North American college and university campuses for visiting alumni. There is a flurry of activity held over an entire weekend, traditionally in late September or October. Exactly what goes on during these celebrations varies according to what region in North America alumni are returning to visit, as well as the individual schools’ traditions. In most cases there is a football game involved, a parade, dinners and gatherings for the returning graduates, and of course the crowning of the Homecoming Queen.

The Lycoming football team in action during the Homecoming game from 1954. Lycoming registered their first score of the season that game, but unfortunately were defeated 31-7 at the hands of Geneva College.

A photograph of Rich Hall taken in 1958 with banners spelling out "Beat Juniata" hanging from the windows.

Pictured here is the Methodist Student Movement's entry in the 1958 Homecoming parade.

A group of Lycoming students prepares for the 1956 Homecoming dance.

Laurie Jones crowned queen in 1959.

Over the years at Lycoming College the activities commemorating the graduates' returns have changed, but Homecoming and Reunion Weekend remains a vital campus tradition. The schedule for Homecoming and Reunion Weekend for 2010 is available here.

Freshman Rules

A portion of every incoming college freshman’s education is spent on learning the meaning of the word, “upperclassman.” At least this was how campus life was according to an article from November 1938 published in the student newspaper, the Dickinson Union.

During this time on campus, the frosh were identifiable by their strict adherence to the rules set down by the governing sophomore tribunal. Over the years, “freshmen rules” curriculum consisted of not being allowed to speak with members of the opposite sex, outlandish attire ranging from black ties to green hair ribbons, as well as the name signs found dangling around their necks. Freshman males could be seen wearing make-up and fingernail polish, while the females were caught with different color stockings and shoes, pigtails in their hair, and clothing worn backward.

Although these telltale signs seemed designed to alienate the campus’s newest additions they provided a sense of camaraderie according to an editorial in a later edition of the Dickinson Union. Freshmen not only had a chance to become acquainted with each other, but these traditions gave them a sense of belonging and by following the “rules” there was a unique show of college spirit. An added bonus, according to Dr. J. Milton Skeath, was that: “It can be a lot of good fun. And good fun always promotes mental health.”