By Lilyana Canales | Arts & Life Writer
As homecoming traditions kick off this week, Baylor alumni, students and family join together to celebrate and honor Baylor legacy. Campus has bubbled with anticipation for weeks now, and the months of planning from students and faculty alike will soon be brought to fruition.
This year marks 117 years of Baylor homecomings, and there have been many changes since 1909. From barricade kissing to “Hawny Frog” skits, many traditions have come and gone through the years and across generations. As students gear up to honor old traditions and celebrate new ones, they reflect on what homecoming means to them.
For some students, their favorite part of homecoming is the parade. Los Angeles freshman Tiara Wood said seeing floats that she made go by is “pretty cool.”
Similarly, Double Oak senior Gracie Gallagher said she feels there is nowhere else to see a parade like Baylor’s.
“It’s so fun, and there’s always something so creative going on in the parade,” Gallagher said. “So even though it’s really early in the morning, it’s definitely worth waking up and watching it because there’s nothing like it.”
Arlington junior Tori Saulsby also said that the parade is a showcase of “Baylor student’s creativity and pride.”
Bridgeport sophomore Cason Lanfear is looking forward to the football game. Lanfear said he loves Baylor’s football team and is hopeful for a win.
While there are numerous traditions to fall in love with, the Baylor community is the crown jewel of homecoming. Whether it is the community of faith or the collegial community, alumni and students alike return every year to their second home.
Saulsby, Lanfear and Wood all said that the Christian environment was what made Baylor a home away from home. Saulsby said that everywhere she turned she was “reminded that God is good all the time.”
“I feel like everybody here … you can see Jesus in them,” Wood said.
Gallagher and Southlake sophomore Thomas Hall said he had a fondness for Baylor’s collegial and inviting atmosphere.
“I feel like every single person on Baylor’s campus is just so friendly and welcoming,” Gallagher said.
Hall, who spent his high school days leading the parade in marching band, now looks forward to leading Baylor’s parade with the Baylor Student Foundation.
“I would say the traditions that we have in terms of the football games and in terms of the parade … reminds me of home of back home,” Hall said. “The whole town would come together for the homecoming parade, and we would have all the different school organizations walking throughout Town Square. And so, I think it’s kind of cool that that continued into Baylor … I think that’s the tradition surrounding homecoming just, it feels, it reminds me of home.”
Similarly, Gallagher said that the friendly environment was one that would have her coming back to homecoming every year, and to Baylor after graduation.
“Everywhere I go, I run into someone I know, and it’s never in a bad way,” Gallagher said. “They’re always so kind, and … everyone opens their homes to each other … No matter like where I go in the future, like I can always come back to Baylor and know that this is a safe space. I absolutely love that.“
