BUFFOLOGY

Homecoming!

Pigskin Revue, the bonfire, Fair on the Square, parades, concerts…  I LOVE homecoming.  For an entire weekend, the entire town of Canyon turns maroon — it seems like everyone has a maroon shirt to wear, and little kids with buffalo horns on their heads run around with their “buffs up” (the WT hand sign: thumb and pinky up, three middle fingers folded down.  That’s the one.)  Students decorate their residence hall entrances for the weekend, eat a turkey leg after the parade, and take lots and lots of pictures by the huge bonfire.  But the most exciting part of homecoming is….. (drumroll…)

THE GAME!

 I’m not a sports buff — I played flag footall once, and got my eye punched out — but the football game is perhaps my favorite part of homecoming every year.  This year was no exception… it was without doubt the best yet.  Continue reading ‘We will kick, pass, and run, ’til those Greyhounds are done…’

Homecoming week is officially over. Sad. However, I do have a confession to make. Friday afternoon, I was sick of Homecoming. All the work, all the paint, the pomp, the time, the headaches for what a day’s worth of events. I was OVER it.

I was over it until, Pigskin Revue, the big pep rally before the bonfire. By the third time the band played the fight song, I had regained part of my Buff Pride. At the same time though the thought was in my head, “Can we please get this over with? Bed is sounding awfully nice!” After Pigskin was over the Student Body Officers, the RHA President and Dr. O’Brien headed over to the Eternal Flame to light the torches that would eventually light the Bonfire.

It was that little flame that lit the flame in my heart. I was passionate again for WT, for Homecoming. I was a part of the torch processional. We marched across the Pedestrian Mall {WHOA! AMAZING Experience….I’m excited about this new tradition.} We followed the O’Brien’s car as we travelled down the streets of campus; the band was blaring the fight song, the herdsmen were chanting, bells were ringing. The energy was AWESOME!

As the Bonfire was lit, my passion for Homecoming was regained. A smile was on my face the rest of the night. The Bonfire meant so much to me, it was my last Bonfire as a student. It culminated my University experience. So many memories were brought forth. I saw so many friends both current students and alumni. The whole community was out there. The Bonfire unified everyone. We were all Buffs for that night.

Today was WT’s Work-a-Thon day. Basically, Work-a-Thon is a campus clean-up/money-raising day. Different organizations get groups together and pretty much work their butts off for a couple hours.

Some people paint. Others might pick up trash.

Me? I worked on the bonfire.

Let me explain a little about bonfire building. Years ago, there were these people over in Northern Africa… in Gaza to be exact. They lived in Egypt and therefore called themselves Egyptians.

Now these Egyptians liked to build things. Like the Pharaohs Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. They built pyramids. Or more like they enslaved peopled and had them build the pyramids.

Bonfire building is kind of like that. You go out in the heat, get really sweaty and dirty, and cut yourself up a bit.. Everybody gets in a line and passes wooden palettes down the line to build up the bonfire kind of like playing with Legos.

It takes hours and hours to do this. Days, even.

And then we burn it all away.

“Why in the world would you waste your time doing that if it’s so miserable!?” you might ask.

Well, I really don’t know. I can tell you this, though: there’s something about building the bonfire that will really help build relationships with people on campus you might never have met. The idea of working on something that everyone here on campus can take part in really helps to build that campus community that’s really important no matter where you go to school at.

So is it hard working on the bonfire? Yeah, I won’t lie and say it isn’t. But it’s also so very much worth it when you get to stand there on Friday night and watch as it ignites into a pyre that could be seen for miles around.

Do I have school spirit? I think getting cut up and bleeding for my school probably means yes.

-Jere

I ordered my senior ring today.  Whoa….Graduation is coming.

Coming sooner though is Homecoming.  Things have been so hectic in the Student Government Office {I’m Vice President of the Student Body} this past week getting ready for next week’s activities.   Things have been so busy that I haven’t had time to go by my tickets for Cross Canadian Ragweed, who is the band that will be playing immediately after the football game on the 13th. If you are going to be around Canyon next week, you should totally come to the festivities and the concert.   Check out the Homecoming Site  for all the details about next week.   All my friends are gearing up into campaign mode for King and Queen.  Seriously…one of my friend’s won’t stop checking his Facebook group numbers.  It’s intense. It’s a lot of fun. 

 Alrighty….off to night class. 

-wes