By: M. Lane Rhodes
Staff Writer
There is one weekend every year at Wingate when it does not matter what age you are. All that matters is your love for the Bulldogs! Homecoming is a campus tradition that dates back to 1896 and continues to bring the Wingate community together to celebrate with an array of festivities.
Charity golf tournaments, alumni games, group mixers, luncheons, award dinners and the famous homecoming football game are among the few that tend to pack the weekend.
First year Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Colón worked with multiple campus departments to plan this year’s homecoming events. Colón organized registrations, set the homecoming schedule, social media promotions and coordinated homecoming logistics.
Using over a decade’s worth of experience in planning and promoting events, she was determined to make this homecoming the best one Wingate has ever experienced.
“We have added multiple affinity group events this year,” Colón said. “The Wingate Black Alumni Association is hosting a post-game party Saturday, the Latin American Student Organization is hosting an alumni/student tailgate before the game, and we have a Multicultural choir service on Sunday that is also a Lyceum. All of these events are new.”
Colón did not have to plan everything, however. Taking a walk throughout the Wingate campus during homecoming week, you will notice the various fountains bubbling over with dishwasher detergent. What began as a prank has now blossomed into a beloved tradition.
Walking through the quad, you will be engulfed in a Charmin winter wonderland as hundreds of students gathered the night before, rolls of toilet paper hand, prepared to cover every branch.
Students on campus take a special interest in this tradition, more so than others. Second year transfer student Ethan McCormick expressed his excitement for this year’s toilet paper event in the quad.
“Last year I didn’t know what to expect because it was my first year, but it is crazy seeing the amount of toilet paper that people are able to throw up there- it’s covered,” McCormick said. “It’s for sure a unique thing that goes on. I was surprised how long it stayed in the trees for the following weeks too.”
In the coming weeks, Wingate groundskeepers will continue to work diligently to try to get all of the remaining tissue from the branches. Whether they enjoy this process or not will remain a mystery. All of the groundskeepers who were asked refused to answer.
Homecoming at Wingate is not just fun for the current students. Coming back to campus is one of the most rewarding and special parts of homecoming for Wingate alumni.
This is especially true for former Wingate football player Jason Fowler, or “Cheese,” as all of his friends and coaches called him. Fowler graduated in 2000 from Wingate and now lives in Charlotte with his wife, Heather, and their two children, Brock and Caitlin.
Cheese has been coming to almost every Wingate homecoming since he graduated and has just recently started his own tailgate. Before football games you will find him under a tent reconnecting with friends and spending time with his family. They share food and fellowship over plates full of smoked meats and southern sides. If you stay long enough you might even have the privilege of hearing a few, “way back when,” stories.
“My favorite part of homecoming weekend year to year is seeing all the guys I used to play with,” Cheese said. “Sitting around and talking about the road trips, practices and bus rides is awesome. That’s what I think is the true meaning of homecoming for us.”
As families prepared to make their way to the little town nestled under Charlotte on October 13-15, students and faculty patiently waited as well, eager to make new memories with friends and family that will last them a lifetime.
Wingate Triangle 