The Green Wave crashed upon The Rock on Friday night, as displaced Tulane University students celebrated their homecoming away from home by painting Northwestern’s campus icon in the colors that gave them their team name.
“We tried to keep it simple,” said Nathaniel Usrey, a Weinberg junior. “It was all very random, but we all wanted to paint it. Honestly, I don’t have that much spirit for homecoming, but because we’re here there’s a little more spirit. We also want to paint a rock on the lake, something that will last for 20 years.”
Usrey was one of about 15 students who gathered at The Rock, painting it and its surrounding wall in Tulane colors until 2 a.m Saturday. They were among those who came to NU in September after Hurricane Katrina forced college students to leave their schools in Louisiana and transfer elsewhere. NU enrolled 47 full-time undergraduates from New Orleans universities to take daytime classes.
Blake Roter, a Weinberg senior, said Tulane usually celebrates homecoming with a parade and a football game on a high school field near its campus. Tulane otherwise played home games at the Superdome.
“With all the parking structures at the Superdome, you can’t really tailgate, but for homecoming everyone’s together,” he said.
Although school is not in session at Tulane, the football team did not cancel its season. The Superdome was damaged when Katrina hit and the stadium was turned into a shelter. The high school field still had no electricity when Tulane was scheduled to play. Tulane used Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium instead and won its rescheduled game against Southeastern Louisiana University on Oct. 1.
Tulane’s other homecoming events are “postponed,” according to the school’s Athletics Web site. A scheduled “Overcoming” game might resembles homecoming more than the Oct. 1 game.
Maureen McDonough, Weinberg senior, said homecoming at Tulane was no big deal.
“It’s actually really pathetic,” she said. “Tulane doesn’t have much school spirit.”
Coming to NU after Katrina brought displaced students closer together, Roter said. One student made T-shirts, and they share a listserv.
“I know a lot of the Tulane students are living together so they’ve really bonded,” he said.
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