Oregon State University - Beaver Yearbook (Corvallis, OR)

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brand new look. Photo by Haley Rasmussen Above: Going back as early as 1907. the homecoming bonfire is the oldest campus tradition. This year the fire took place across from Reser Stadium in the Magruder parking lot. Photo by Josh Maguire Above middle: Acacia and Pi Beta Phi are the winners of the house decorating portion of the homecoming festivities. Here. Brain Moore as Benny and Tim Phillips as the Arizona Wildcat are duking it out in the boxing nng made as part of the house decorations in front of Acacia. Photo by Vanessa Bosch Above right: An Arizona player tackles sophomore wide receiver Anthony Wheat-Brown. Wheat-Brown is one of OSU’s best receivers. Photo by Dylan Boye Homecomin f M

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homecomma drad ons a e comcd Q8eao(' ? o dcmdnao ? a cddra on o Or I dsJj v'it Homecoming celebrations took on many forms this year and lasted the entire week leading up to the football game. These events gave students a chance to enjoy Beaver spirit and participate in competitions of their own. Greek houses and campus residence halls took part in an annual competition of decorating their houses with the best Beaver spirit they could find. Football fields and Beaver pride filled the yards and windows of QSU student living facilities Friday afternoon. In the spirit of I lomecoming students helped to Paint the Town Orange,” the theme of this years Homecoming. Orange and black signs tilled the lawns and windows displaying “Beaver Nation,” “Beaver Believer” and “Dam those Wildcats.” Miniature football games, graveyards, boxing rings and tailgaters were all yard themes. The winners of this year’s competition were Acacia and Pi Beta Phi who created a W ildcat graveyard. It was the traditional football field with the same beaver that occupies the center of Reser Stadium and a boxing ring complete with Benny duking it out with the Wildcat. Another celebration was Benny’s Birthday Bash which was held in the Memorial I'nion quad on Oct. 2. Throughout the quad many of Benny’s fans were able to enjoy the music and entertainment. People cat cake, and t(K k pictures with Benny the Beaver. There were raffles and many activities. People had fun while celebrating 53 years of Benny. A man who had graduated from Oregon State in 1952 said, “Benny used to be so mean looking, and now I l x k at him, wanting to take a picture with him. It’s a wonder what happens over a few years. At Benny’s bash those who came to celebrate were also able to learn about his life, how he became our mascot, and about the changes in costuming. Benny the Beaver was not the first mascot of Oregon State. Instead, a coyote named Jimmy was in fact the first official mascot. A bulldog, who was never recognized as an official mascot. followed him and in 1893 there was an actual human mascot named John Robert Newton Bell who was the team’s most avid fan. In 1945 Benny the Beaver was introduced. Ken Austin was the first student to appear as Benny at an C )regon State athletic event, which was in Sep. 1951. Austin, who graduated in 1953 was recognized as an outstanding student for his sch x l spirit. With time, the Benny costume came to have many faces; in particular an angry face and a calm face. The angry face was for games and the calm one was to interact with his fans. To conclude the week, the Beaver football team t x k on the University of Arizona. The game brought many students, as well as alumni who had attended class reunions, together to cheer on the Beavers. All the festivities created a great game day atmosphere. The football team played hard, making the game close, but in the end lost to University of Arizona 29-27. Story by Vanessa Bosch, Devon Faber and Amy Jack Events i. 7ra( fions

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dad!e weekend fT wd'eds of students enjoyed a “(j cmic Q)ad’s Weefe id, a 6- jcar rad Zo Rooms were cleaned, empty bottles thrown out, and that nasty stuff that had been growing in our sink was finally scrubbed clean as we prepared for dads to hit the campus on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Dad’s Weekend started off with a golf tournament at Tryst ing Tree and the comedy show starring Jim Breuer, former cast member of Saturday Night Live, also known as “(ioatboy.” At the beginning of a sold out show, the microphone malfunctioned and Breuer had to improvise with some quick thinking Believe it or not, he used hand puppets! I Ic also mentioned the football team in some of his jokes, but he quickly moved away from that when the spotlight accidentally flashed. Wow, you guys arc intense!” Breuer laughed as he opened up for the rest of the show. The rest of the show was based on Breuer s father and his experience of being a father himself. This allowed the audience to be able to relate and made the laughs just that much more enjoyable. After the show, the laughs continued as dads and their students relayed more jokes to one another. As they left LiSells Stewart (.'enter to go enjoy the night, the audience agreed that the comedy show proved to be the perfect way to kick off the Classic Dads Weekend. Saturday opened up the most opportunities to spend time with Bop, especially with the football game against Stanford. There were plenty of other options for bonding time. The Hot Rod Car Show in MacAlexander Ficldhousc and the Whose Your Daddy?” game show were also good ways to pass the time. Touring the campus was also widely favored. Many dads toured and marveled at the brand new Kelley engineering building Freshman Shelby Ross and her dad. Dave, were happy renting movies, going out to dinner and just hanging out together. Of course, the football game was included in their list of things to do. If renting movies was not on their list, students and their dads could watch “La Bamba or The Motorcycle Diaries, both of which played Friday and Saturday night in the Ml' Journey Room. For those who did not get tickets but still wanted to watch the big game, the MU Commons played the televised game on a big screen. Those who were able to attend the game against Stanford bundled up and enjoyed a Beaver pastime. The hot chocolate flowed as temperatures dropped down into the low 50s. The temperature did not stop diehard Beaver fans from seeing the game through to the end, even if Stanford squeaked by three points ahead to win the game. In the words of senior Kate Drury, Dad’s Weekend rocks my socks off! I lowcvcr. that phrase was not quite as popular as what was overheard both in Rcser Stadium and all across campus. The mantra of the weekend became “Don’t forget dads, we accept cash, check, money order and most major credit cards. ink, wink. Story by Valoree Hill and Izabella Chamot