Gusts of powdered color exploded in the air as nearly 100 Northwestern students engaged in Northwestern Homecoming’s first-ever charity paint fight, The Color ROAR, on Sunday.
Primal drums rumbled as the rhythm and dance group Boomshaka counted down for the fight to start on Lakefront Field. The 2012 Homecoming Court led the NU Fight Song before the activities began.
Homecoming hosted The Color ROAR to kick off this year’s Homecoming Week. Students who registered were given powdered paint packets to throw at one another during the fight.
Lakin Davis, community service chair of Homecoming executive board, said the idea for the The Color ROAR came from events like the Color Run, a nationally coordinated charity event where colored paint is thrown at runners completing a 5k race.
“We wanted to kick off Homecoming Week with a big celebration,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “That’s why we chose this first.”
In past years, Homecoming hosted Make a Difference Day, a day of community service, but Davis said participation numbers for the event were declining. Instead, she said Homecoming decided to host The Color ROAR to raise money for NU’s Red Watch Band program, which focuses on alcohol safety practices.
Davis said the group’s executive board strives to promote safety for all students during Homecoming Week, especially regarding alcohol consumption.
Students registered for the event via The Color ROAR Facebook page. Registration was open Monday, Oct. 8, through Friday, Oct. 19 and cost $5. Participating students picked up white T-shirts to wear during the event on Thursday and Friday at Norris University Center. Davis said approximately 300 students initially registered for the event.
Students expressed similar enthusiasm for the event.
“It was a good study break,” said Weinberg freshman Julia Harrigan. “There was lots of spirit. I hope they do it again.”
David Tyson, a Weinberg freshman, said he was not expecting powdered paint, and sometimes it got into his mouth as he tried to throw it against the wind.
SESP senior Zoe Goodman said she tagged one of her best friends in the Facebook event, and five minutes later they were registered. She said this ranks high on her list of events she has attended at NU, and almost higher than the Norris Drag Show, one of her personal favorites.
“It’s senior year, and I am trying to do as much as I can,” she said.
