Students, staff and alumni celebrated the end of the Purple Reign-themed Homecoming Week with a parade and pep rally Friday preceding the homecoming game Saturday.
People gathered along Sheridan Road on Friday to watch as the football team, marching band, student groups and Grand Marshal Seth Meyers (Comm ‘96) passed by on foot and on floats.
“It’s really fun seeing everyone so spirited,” Communication sophomore Eesha Zaheer said. “It gets better every year. Everyone comes together as a Northwestern community after a hard week of midterms.”
During the week, members of the Homecoming executive board and Associated Student Government held tailgates and pre-parade activities for the NU community. ASG Clerk Elena Westbrook said more than 200 students attended, based on the number of raffle tickets given away at the tailgate.
“I think it went really well,” Westbrook said. “We accomplished everything we wanted to. We gave away all the freebies we wanted to, I think there were just some leftover hotdogs.”
Westbrook said the tailgate events took months of preparation.
“Everything was donated except for the DJ. We had to contact Evanston businesses to get things donated and make sure we could get all the equipment. The day of, I was preparing at 12 getting tables from the Black House and the MCC (Multicultural Center), and we borrowed a grill from one of the sororities.”
Communication freshman Jodi Naglie said she was most excited to see Seth Meyers.
Naglie attended the barbecue Friday, where students mingled with Homecoming royalty before the parade.
“The chili was really good and I’m really enjoying all the free stuff,” Naglie said.
During the parade, alumni dressed in purple said they were happy to be back on campus for the Homecoming celebrations.
“It’s so exciting to see all the people and the floats and the music,” said Deanna Charles (‘86)), who never experienced a Homecoming parade while a student at NU. “It makes me feel like I really missed out all those years. It reminds me of when we had so much school spirit and it’s at an even greater level in younger generations. Just to see Sheridan Road blocked off is amazing.”
The parade culminated at Deering Meadow with the Pep Rally, where President Morton Schapiro, Coach Pat Fitzgerald and NU alums Meyers and movie director and producer Garry Marshall (BSJ ’56) spoke to the crowd about NU school spirit and pumped them up for the Homecoming game Saturday. The Northwestern Wildcats lost to the Penn State Nittany Lions 24-34.
Meyers crowned the winners of Homecoming Court at the end of the pep rally. Communication senior Janna Kaplan won Queen and Weinberg senior Andrew Duble won King.
“It’s a huge honor,” Kaplan said. “Everyone on the royal court is great and has made such a difference at this school. Of every year, this was the most I’ve seen people come out to the parade.
Duble said he was humbled and excited to win King and to be a part of the Homecoming celebrations.
“It’s a lot of fun and that’s what it’s all about, the Northwestern spirit,” he said. “It was fun sitting with all the rest of royalty and just waving at the little kids, seeing all the smiles.”
