Kevin Leon
keleon@ursinus.edu
This past weekend Ursinus celebrated its annual Homecoming and Family Weekend. What made this year’s celebration different from that of years past was that it also marked the school’s sesquicentennial, or Ursinus’ 150th birthday.
Family Weekend events kicked off on Friday morning with open classes from 8 am to 1:30 pm. The subject of these classes included economics, math, biology, history, and Japanese.
Like homecomings before, Saturday featured a flurry of events hosted on campus which included a barbecue, reunions, athletics, exhibits, and tours among other things. Sankofa Umoja Nia hosted their annual Cafe Nia, which featured dance performances.
There were many different class and organization reunions this year, as well. Class reunions included 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1999, 204, 2009, and 2014.
On the scoreboards, Ursinus athletics largely missed their opportunity to capitalize on the energy and atmosphere provided by the day.
Women’s soccer endured a tough 1-0 loss to McDaniel after a late goal in the second half.
Women’s volleyball lost to Goucher, 3-1, after a hot start that enabled them to win the first set, but subsequently lost momentum and the following three sets.
After an exciting back-and-forth match between Ursinus and Juniata, the football team was handed its first loss of the season by a score of 44-38. After ending the first quarter with a narrow lead, Ursinus wasn’t able to completely answer Juniata’s offense.
Women’s field hockey, however, earned cause
to celebrate by thumping
McDaniel and extending
their winning streak to
five consecutive games.
The no.11 ranked Bears
went on to record a
shutout after scoring
five goals in the opening
quarter.
During halftime of the football game, the results from the Homecoming Court elections were announced. Seniors Jamir Mallory and Kye Brewer were crowned homecoming king and queen. Mallory reflected on winning the award. “Saturday was a different kind of feeling, to see all of the love and support, prior to my name being called and after, it warmed my heart to see the amount of support that I have on this campus.”
A less talked about aspect of Homecoming celebrations is what they leave behind. The following day, evidence of Ursinus’ 150th was strewn about campus.
Celebrating Ursinus’ 150th birthdayThe gravel lot adjacent to the football field was littered with trash, and a large hole had appeared in the bathroom of Ritter closest to the football field.