“I really wasn't aware of involvement opportunities until this year and as far as I know the talent show was really the only thing open to the non-Greek, non-university dorm demographic that includes myself,” Franck said.
According to Stephanie A. Caron, executive board member of the Student Entertainment Board, Homecoming participation is significantly less for non-Greek students who live off-campus than students who live in residence halls or in the Greek system.
“[Homecoming] participation is equal with the number of residence halls students to Greeks,” Caron said. “However the majority that is lacking is definitely off-campus students,” Caron said.
According to Caroline M. Pratt, a senior at WSU, most Greek-affiliated students agree that Homecoming focuses more on the freshmen than on all students.
“During my freshman and sophomore year I competed in almost all of the Homecoming events, but over time I have decreased my participation,” Pratt said.
Caron disagrees with the idea that the Homecoming events revolve around freshmen.
“It’s not necessarily a matter of age but a matter of living situation.” Caron said. “If you’re not living on-campus or in the Greek community participation is low.”
“I think SEB could reach out better to off-campus non-Greek students by letting them know that you don’t have to be in the Greek system or in a dorm to be a part of Homecoming events,” Franck said. “I think that most people not in these categories feel that events, such as the lip sync or talent show, are competitions for the Greek community and they are not welcome to attend or participate.”
In spite of this, several student organizations on the fourth floor of the Compton Union Building formed the group “the Seven Dynamite Centers” to compete in different Homecoming events, according to Caron. The Seven Dynamite Centers drew much attention to the off-campus students who would not normally participate.
“I think the Seven Dynamite Centers are the beginning of something,” Caron said. “Getting student organizations that tend to be made-up of off-campus residents would be a really good step forward for getting more people involved.”
According to Caron, there is high volume of Homecoming participation; therefore SEB is not concerned with increasing numbers of participants.
However, SEB does intend on creating different opportunities to increase the variety of students participating in the Homecoming events, according to Caron.
“Overall, Homecoming focuses on one group: Cougars,” Caron said. “Our ultimate goal is to encourage cougar pride at WSU and to build-up school spirit for the big Homecoming game.”
