Campus to celebrate Homecoming with tailgate on Ped Mall
Photo by Ruthie Martin
For the first time ever, this year’s Homecoming tailgate party will take place on the Pedestrian Mall on Saturday, Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event was organized by eight students in an event management class and will feature over 30 student organization booths, free food, yard games, live music, giveaways, kid activities and much more.
The tailgate has traditionally taken place in the Nora Chambers parking lot, but the alumni relations team wanted to make it bigger this year, according to Bethany McCoy, assistant director of community relations.
“This year we kind of wanted something bigger, we wanted a family environment, we wanted activities for the kids,” McCoy said. “We want this to be fun, we want it to be just a really great time of community and camaraderie and cheering on our athletic department.”
Senior public relations major Cody Aulidge helped plan the tailgate and hopes it will be even better than last year due to the location change.
“From what I saw then to now, this tailgate will be a lot more fun compared to the previous due to a new location and all the things we have in plan for the event,” Aulidge said. “We want the alumni to be proud of what’s happening here at Lee and to bring excitement to the basketball games happening on campus that day.”
The student organization booths will begin at 10a.m. and will provide opportunities for alumni to connect with current students. At 11:15 a.m. there will be a Flame Walk which will serve as a mini pep rally for the men’s and women’s basketball games at noon and 2:15 p.m., respectively.
Students are encouraged to participate in the Flame Walk, in which they will line along the sidewalk from the Ped Mall to Walker Arena to encourage those who are passing through.
“Both basketball teams, cheerleaders and maybe some special guests are gonna be walking down [so] you’re cheering on your athletic teams,” McCoy said. “We really wanna give them a good [feeling] of support.”
Junior public relations major Katherine Burney served as group leader for the event management class team and believes the hard work and dedication of the student planners will make the tailgate a great event.
“I think that’s what makes this different is that there’s students behind it that are passionate about wanting this to be great,” Burney said. “Hopefully this event will bring joy to this campus and just allow people to have a good time.”
