The Truth Behind Homecoming

Let’s be honest – the best part of Homecoming isn’t the football (though I’ll most assuredly be at the game for our 5-1 team!). Likewise, it isn’t about the tailgate, or the parties, or the luncheons.  It’s about reuniting with your William & Mary family, all of whom share a mutual love of this College; better yet, it’s about returning campus and feeling as though you’d never left. It’s about taking a walk on Ancient Campus and reminiscing – depending on your class year – about bowing and curtseying to Lord Botetourt, Yule Log, serenading the president, candlelight vigils, or cheering for the incoming freshmen. It’s a time for remembering the late nights spent with your hallmates, laughing and galavanting as young college students all want to do.

Homecoming is for greeting those visiting campus, and for the smiles of recognition that acknowledge an unspoken, but shared, tie to the place you both love. Alums – students love seeing you during this week! Come to our homecoming concerts, to our alumni receptions, to support our sports teams, and to reconnect with old classmates. Come to show your children and spouses where you spent your college years, and come to enjoy a week of reliving how you spent your time here. Strike up a conversation with a current student, and compare memories of favorite traditions. Have fun, but remember the real purpose of Homecoming: to take time to reflect upon a Campus that loves to have you back walking its (mostly uneven) brick paths, and to realize that you really don’t need the excuse of “homecoming” to return – we’d love to have you anytime.

Hark upon the Gale,

Brittany Fallon, Class of 2011