University of Tennessee Knoxville - Volunteer Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

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Tom McNutt :, gig: V.. E. i; $w Alan English Alan English Torn McNutt Tom McNutt

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Homecoming l84 Was Not Whether We Won Or Lost, But HOW We Played The Games It is a good thing that Homecoming is more than a single football game and that the week-long event can be consid- ered a success without actually winning on the gridiron. This year's Homecoming -- An Old Southern Rebellion - could have been perfect had it not been for the Vols anes- thetizing 95,585 loyal fans with a 13-10 loss to Ole Miss on a freezing night in November. The Homecoming games and events were about the same as the last couple of years. Anything goes, lawn display, soap box derby, eating contest, window display, banner and float competition gave students in greek and non-greek organiza- tions a chance to show their spirit and compete for trophies and prizes. The games and competitive events are what Homecom- ing is all about, said Mike Craig, a sophomore from Ripley, TN. They're also a good way to meet people and make new friends, he added. Participation in Homecoming week activities was much better than last year. The turnout was terrific, said Mitch Walker, a junior Business Administration major from Chattanooga. Walker was involved with the All Campus Events committee that planned and sponsored Homecoming. Usually in the past only the Greeks would compete in the events, but this year quite a few independent organizations got involved, she said. Some people feel that there is too much money spent on Homecoming in an effort to win trophies and first place standings. It was this feeling of excessive expenditures that inspired Sigma Alpha Epsilon and their Little Sisters of Mi- nerva to give us our first Generic Homecoming. llWe just wanted to spend less money and have a great time, explained Richard Scharff, a junior from Knoxville. Scharff and his brothers in Sigma Alpha Epsilon used a black and white generic color scheme on everything from their float and banner to window display, but it was the float that was the real show stopper. The generic Homecoming float was a huge white box with black letters on the side proclaiming it to be a Generic Homecoming float. Inside the float were black balloons which were released at an opportune time during the pa- rade. Molly Harrel

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Molly Harrell PLAYED THE GAMES TCONTJ The SAE's float was the most humorous, but it was the impressive entry from Lambda Chi Alpha and Chi Omega that floated away with first place in the large float division. Gary Yager, a junior from Tullahoma, told how they had worked around the clock Thursday night and the morning of the parade. Right up to the time we had to get to the parade starting line, we were running alongside the float still pomping and adding finishing touches, he said. This was the second year since 1969 that a Homecoming queen was elected, and like last year there was considerable controversy over continuing this tradition. Roger Bryant, a communications major from Anniston, Alabama and editor of the Daily Beacon wrote in the school's newspaper how such a tradition was sexist and frivolous. Kaye Johnson, a senior from Memphis was crowned Homecoming Queen during halftime. Kaye and four others were selected from 20 girls who were judged on factors such as grades 8.0 or highen, personalities, campus involvement, and of course physical attractiveness. The five finalists were then presented to the student body to be voted on. I was really honored, but I disagree with those who say this is just a beauty contest, said Kaye. When you consider that Kaye is an engineering major and that like the other finalists had a 3.4 grade point or higher, any arguments about Homecoming queens being just another pretty face fall by the wayside. Overall, it wasn't whether the Vols won or lost on that cold November 12th, but how much fun we had playing the games and showing our school spirit that really made the memories. - Ted Ed 245 Student Life Tom McNutt