Howard Homecoming

Howard University’s homecoming this year deserves an overall grade of “F.” Howard students tend to hype up this annual event, but the school did not deliver. Because of the exorbitant cost of tickets, lack of security, and lack of organization, Howard University homecoming 2012 let down many eager students and alumni. If Howard hopes to reignite a sense of school pride and alumni participation, the homecoming committee needs to do better. The outrageous cost of event tickets may very well be the reason homecoming was not a success. On a college student budget many people were not able to afford the steep ticket prices. Therefore, people were not able to attend the events. That led to a very bad turnouts to the scheduled events and made students upset. If the tickets weren't so pricey than many more students would have went. Security offered by the University was not sufficient enough to accommodate the tens of thousands of people around campus, and safety was a major concern for many. Having so many people in one area was very different and uncomfortable. There were too many people for there not to be security everywhere. Durning the weekend there was a shooting and a stabbing outside of one of Howard's dorms. The security was weak for such a big event and should have been taken care of. Much like many other aspects of Howard University, Howard’s homecoming lacked organization and showed how ill arranged and managed the events were. The disorganization started even before homecoming began. The R&B show was changed to the variety show because they didn't have anyone to come perform. Students complained about the forty-five minute intermissions between each line in the fashion show. The intermissions were caused by designers dropping out last minute. Nothing started on time, but that not unusual for Howard University. Howard’s homecoming was not what was expected. The only good thing that happened was the football team winning the homecoming game, and Drake showing up at Yardfest. Next year the homecoming committee needs to make sure what they advertise actually happens, lower the ticket prices, and have better security. Many students still had fun this year but they expect next year to be better.