This weekend marks the return of one of the most meaningless, empty traditions of the school year here at Geneseo: homecoming.
At other schools, homecoming is a time for homemade floats, parades, football games and crowds of alumni coming back to relive their glory days at their alma mater. These alumni bring back two very important things: memories of their time spent here and money.
The centerpiece of any homecoming weekend should be a large public event that draws in not only alumni and students in a celebration of school pride and spirit, but also members of the community. Unfortunately, Geneseo's homecoming fails to do this.
The best option for the school would be to move homecoming to a weekend during the hockey season. There is already an alumni hockey weekend in November, which serves as an example of just how big of a draw this sport is for some graduates.
Given the current budget crisis, anything that brings more money to the school can only be a good thing - Geneseo is currently facing a $3.2 million budget shortfall, with next year's situation not showing any sign of improvement.
Moving homecoming weekend to coincide with hockey season would fall in line with President Dahl's goal of improving the college and restructuring it to bring in more revenue. With all due respect to the dedicated athletes and coaches, the fall sports season just doesn't field a sport with that same popular status.
Activities Commission has done its best given the circumstances. They have put together two class receptions, a three-on-three basketball tournament and an alumni block party, along with a number of other activities. These events could just as easily be hosted during hockey season though.
While hockey is not the norm for a homecoming weekend, just imagine the atmosphere at the Wilson Ice Arena as the Ice Knights take on conference rival SUNY Plattsburgh. Students and alumni pack the stands and watch in excitement as Geneseo pulls out a last minute victory. It would be absolutely electric.
Homecoming is supposed to be an exciting and eventful weekend. Right now, Geneseo's homecoming weekend can't claim to be either of these.