2015 Homecoming week recap
Talent Show
By: Annie Sragner, Associate Arts & Life Editor
Homecoming week kicked off with the Talent Show in Stephens Hall Theatre. The Talent Show featured a wide range of performances such as solo singing, spoken word poetry, dance performances, stand-up comedy and salsa dancing.
“This year we had a really cool variety,” Homecoming Chair, Morgan Thomas, said.
The all-freshman group Towson Trills a capella won first place with their mash-up of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons.
Runner up was junior art history major, Kayla McAfee, who stepped out of her comfort zone to perform a self-written spoken word about why it is so hard to have romance in 2015.
“I have been doing spoken word since I was a sophomore in high school,” McAfee said. “I like to remind myself that poetry is about me and I write for myself in hopes of connecting with my audience.”
The talent show congregated a full house of students to appreciate the performance arts in the Towson community.
“Nowadays I feel like people put art on the backburner, so it is great to have these little events that remind us that everyone is art,” McAfee said.
Modelz of Distinction Fashion Show
By: Alaina Tepper & Shanda Kersey, Contributing Writers
Towson modelling group Modelz of Distinction, or MOD, hosted a homecoming runway show called “Kaleidoscope Dreams” on Oct. 20.
The event featured clothes of all of the colors of the rainbow from various fashion lines. Not only was it a homecoming show, but it was also a celebration of MOD’s fifth anniversary on campus.
“It’s definitely different, and it looks really nice,” senior Lexa Goldbeck said.
According to MOD president Jasmine Green, the theme was inspired by a Marc Jacobs runway show that was colorful yet simple.
The event took about six months to plan according to Green, but that hard work was definitely worth it as the clothes and the models put on a stunning display.
This fashion show is an important component of Towson’s homecoming because it invites a diverse audience of students to participate.
“It kind of gets you excited,” first-time MOD model Montinique Morgan said.
Block Party
By: Helen Grafton, Staff Writer
The 2015 Homecoming Committee held its annual block party on Newell Field Oct. 21. Events Director Valeria Miranda and the rest of the events committee headed the event, which has been taking place for six years.
At the block party, there was KanJam and Cornhole, face painting by Kappa Delta and food from various vendors. There were even special guests including a local band, City Wide Gold Starz, and local DJ Matt Holden.
“There were a lot of little kids in the band which was really cute to watch,” sophomore Mary Crowe said.
This was the first year that the event was held on Newell Field. It usually takes place on Tiger Plaza.
“It made me a little nervous to have changed the location to somewhere completely different this year, but it turned out extremely well,” Miranda said.
Clubs and organizations lined the perimeter of the field with open space in the middle for Cornhole and KanJam.
“I think having the student groups there was wonderful it made it a lot bigger than I anticipated,” Miranda said.
Students and members of the community were all invited to attend.
The “Cub Zone” was made appeal to younger children with face painting and decorating birthday hats. The Homecoming Committee agreed that the turnout was overwhelming and hopes to make it even bigger next year.
Thank Goodness It’s Thursday
By: Sydney Engelhardt, Staff Writer
Students walking to class Oct. 22 could stop by the event “Thank Goodness It’s Thursday” in Freedom Square.
The main goal of the event was to promote Towson’s homecoming game, the pageant and the 150th photo according to Val Miranda, event director of the Homecoming committee.
“We are trying to promote spirit and have people know that it is homecoming,” Miranda said. “That was our biggest priority with our campus wide decoration this year, was expanding and reaching out to the rest of the campus.”
“Thank Goodness it’s Thursday” was an opportunity for students to stop by and enjoy free goodie bags, food and 150th Homecoming giveaways such as a phone wallets and battery packs with the 150th logo on it. There was also a place to take photos with Doc the Tiger by the chalkboards in Freedom Square.
“There has been something everyday to look forward too, it gets you pumped for the game,” student Joshua Reeves said.
Overall, the event was a time to advertise homecoming and make people happy according to Miranda.
“I think that food is a really good way to get people to know what is going on and the more we build school sprit the better,” student Sydney Sorenson said.
Pageant
By: Jessica Ricks, Staff Writer
Jamal Washington and Sey Elemo were announced as this year’s Homecoming king and queen during halftime at the Homecoming game on Saturday.
“My first three years of high school I got bullied really bad, it was just like the worst three years in my life,” Washington said. “Coming here now it’s like a dream come true to be on the homecoming court for a university with 22,000 people. It’s truly amazing, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
Members of the Homecoming Court got a chance to show off their talents and tell the school who they are on Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. in the West Village Commons Ballrooms
“We always get the best group of students to represent Towson,” senior and director of royalty for the pageant, Payton Aldridge, said. “The pageant is the best way for them to go onstage and tell everyone who they are and why should be homecoming king and queen because it’s not just the title, you’re representing your school.”
A capella group Tiger Tones opened the show.
There were ten contestants, five male and five female. Last year’s pageant winners served as the emcees.
The talents on display included singing, dancing, balloon animals, poetry and hypnosis. Contestants were also asked questions from the judges.
“The variety of talent was awesome to see,” sophomore and designer of this year’s homecoming shirt, Justin Fairweather, said.
Contestants were nominated by student organizations. Once they were nominated we went through an interview and essay process. The judges made scores and after the show students had the opportunity to vote on Involved@TU for up to 24 hours.
The pageant has been a Towson homecoming tradition for at least five years. This year there were over 170 nominations, making it a record-breaking year.
“It’s not just the title, I can’t stress that enough,” Aldridge said. “It’s a great chance to represent so many different people on our campus and show everyone how diverse Towson is and what a great group of people we have. And it just gives everyone a chance to see a side of Towson that they may not have before.”
Aerial Photo Shoot
By: Alaina Tepper, Contributing Writer
The aerial photo shoot on Oct. 23 was one of the last events of the 2015 homecoming season and incorporated a massive amount of student participation.
Students started lining up an hour before the event, in order to receive a free t-shirt, and were then placed in lines to form a giant 150 to commemorate Towson’s 150th anniversary.
The event was “an easy way to get students involved,” homecoming chair, Morgan Thomas, said.
The photo was comprised entirely of members of the Towson community and all students were invited to participate.
This particular event will also be used to help publicize the school.
The photo was taken by Director of Photographic Services, Kanji Takeno, via a drone, and will be used for marketing according to Thomas. The photo is already posted on Takeno’s Facebook page.
There were also two videos filmed via drone of the crowd yelling, “Happy 150th” and “Happy Holidays.”
