Thursday, September 22, 2011

Homecoming: The Hopkinton Tradition

By Ziggy Chesley

From September 30th thru October 1st, students in Hopkinton Middle High School will meet for one of the most anticipated school wide events: Homecoming. The festivities start with the spirit rally at the end of Friday’s school day. They are followed that evening by a parade with class floats and a bonfire. The next day is filled with exciting games from each of the sports teams and ending with the Homecoming Dance.

Many students love Homecoming. The insane competitions during the spirit rally and the competition between class floats keep everything interesting and different. “My favorite parts of homecoming are the spaghetti dinner and the sports games on Saturday” says Brittany Marshall, a sophomore. The excitement can even be felt in the middle school; for many it’s their first homecoming ever. “I’m most excited for the spirit rally,” says Justin Durant, a 7th grader, who will be experiencing it for the first time.

But, there’s a lot more planning that goes into this event than you may think. The Student Council is in charge of pulling the event off, and according to Student Council Member Maria Booth, a junior, “Weeks before homecoming, we meet at many different times to get everything ready. Between the bonfire, parade, dance and spirit rally, there’s a lot of preparing and organizing that we have to do beforehand. It’s kind of stressful, but it’s all worth it when everyone is able to enjoy the homecoming festivities.”

But sadly, the Homecoming excitement isn’t equally felt for all. In fact, many people who aren’t on sports teams see it as pointless. “Why would I go and do something that doesn’t really matter to me?” says Betty Wallingford, a senior. Unlike other school events like Winter Carnival, the competition isn’t split from class to class, but from sports team to sports team, making it hard for others to participate equally. “ I hated the spirit rally,” says Erin McAuliffe, a senior, “it’s so boring having to sit there and watch other kids have fun.” The spaghetti dinner that is hosted during the bonfire is only open to fall sports teams, which has caused issues in the past for not only non-sports members, but also for athletes that only play winter or spring sports.

No matter if you play a fall sport, a spring sport, or no sport at all, homecoming comes each year. It is one of Hopkinton’s best-kept traditions.

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