Alumni, students, faculty and friends of the university fill The Yard, its distinct paths covered by people dressed to impress. The absence of cell service throughout campus highlights the true density of the crowd as alumni reunite with friends and freshmen get their first taste of Howard’s culture.
The Howard community has much to look forward to during the centennial homecoming. This year’s theme is “Yard of Fame,” featuring a week of events celebrating the university through community and entertainment.
Planning for this year’s homecoming began Nov. 1, 2023, within two weeks after the previous celebration.
Andrew Rivers, director of protocol and events, said the university started working directly with HUSA and a committee of students, faculty and staff. After preliminary discussions on topics like the theme and the implementation plan concluded, planning and development were taken to smaller committees of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners.
“Interestingly enough, the budget has not increased in the last three to four years,” Rivers said. “A good amount of homecoming is done with the securing of sponsorships.”
Rivers said this year’s planning focused on understanding the significance of the centennial homecoming, developing a sense of inclusiveness for community partners, being student-oriented and ensuring alumni got their experience.
“You do have some community members who have not really stepped foot on campus, so what you’ll have to do is create that environment that will get them to understand, ‘you are just as part of our community as well,’” he said.
Given this monumental year, the university planned accordingly for the increased attendance.
“We took into account the record number of people that will be coming back for Howard homecoming and [recognized] there are ways that we will be able to allow that number of individuals to have the same experience in a very safe and inviting location,” Rivers said.
He also said one accommodation for the expected amount of people—having fewer vendors on The Yard—will allow more room for the crowd.
“The tradition of the events remains, but the look—and possibly the thematics and the approach—are a little different,” Rivers said. “It could be 20 or 30 years from now, and you talk to an alum and you’re able to connect and say, ‘Oh yeah, I had that experience. It was the same,’ and that’s what we try to do. That’s Howard. That’s homecoming.”
According to the Howard University Homecoming website, events will be held during the week of Sunday, Oct. 13 until Sunday, Oct. 20. The lineup includes the Call to Chapel, Royal Court Coronation, Bison Madness, Lavender Reception, student fashion show, Yardfest and the football game against the Tennessee State University Tigers.
The university collaborates with the Andrew Rankin Chapel, Office of Student Life and Activities, Howard Athletics, the Office of Intercultural Affairs & LGBTQ+ Resource Center and students to operate the many different parts of the week.
Rivers said there is also an important collaboration with the Howard University Alumni Association to build programming and activities for alumni. Some of these events include a Wine Down, Alumni VIP Day Party, Young Alumni Brunch and the Alumni Jazz Brunch.
The first homecoming celebration in 1924 was originally the 40th annual “Howard-Lincoln Classic” football game, hosted around Thanksgiving.
In a Hilltop article titled “Our Alumni and the Football Classic,” published on Nov. 26, 1924, Alumni and Field Secretary Emory B. Smith wrote, “This year, Howard has determined to profit by the example of the great universities of the Middle West in capitalizing the occasion for the benefit of the Alumni Association and the university at large.”
Smith said this first homecoming may not be very large, but the hope was for graduates to return to the campus, whether for discounted train tickets, to attend events or “to witness the campus illumination.”
The article states that Howard’s homecoming is “destined eventually to become one of the greatest events of the school year.”
Rivers also emphasized the importance of keeping tradition while commemorating homecoming.
“We are now 100 years later and the concept of homecoming still remains the same; it is the day that our alums and friends of Howard are able to come back home and get to see not only how their home has grown, but also look at the new babies that have been birthed,” Rivers said.
Celebrating the centennial year of Howard’s homecoming is significant to many. Aviva Porter, academic advisor in the school of communications and ‘05 alumna, said 100 years “is more than most people’s lifetime.”
Howard alumni like Brianna Jones, ‘18 alumna, interpret homecoming as a time to reflect on memories and experiences.
“Homecoming as an alum means an opportunity to connect with old friends and the school that I love. Also, [I love to] reminisce around campus and introduce loved ones to what feels like a piece of myself,” she said. “My first homecoming was very wholesome. I was so blown away. I had never been in such a large and joyful sea of Black folks.”
Taylor Keaton, a Freshman honors English major from the San Francisco Bay Area, is looking forward to the Yardfest performance as well as socializing.
“Honestly, I don’t really have expectations. I’ve seen a lot of videos of HBCU homecomings but it’s my first time experiencing one. I don’t know much about football but I do want to see what the lineup is. I just enjoy socializing with people so that’s mainly my thing,” she said.
Chloe McNeil, a freshman graphic design major from Baltimore, Maryland, is looking forward to showing off her fashion and sense of style.
“The thing I’m looking forward to the most is being able to dress up. I’ve made my pinterest board for my outfit and I’m excited to go out with my friends and have fun,” she said. I’m looking forward to a lot of parties because I haven’t really gone to a lot since I’ve been here. Homecoming parties are a really big thing and I’m excited to do that.”
Other students like Selma Apara, a junior computer science major and theater arts minor from Okaland, California, are hoping to connect with alumni during this historic event.
“I’m looking forward to making connections with alumni that I haven’t met before and celebrating Black culture with new people,” Apara said. “Last year I would have liked to see people outside later into the night but everything was shut down a little early because of the shootings at close colleges.”
Copy edited by Jalyn Lovelady
