This week Florida State University kicked off its annual homecoming celebration.
Due to COVID-19 the university decided to reschedule its traditional fall homecoming to spring.
It started this week with “Seminole Spirit Night” and “Search for a Cause.” Both were held in person at Landis Green.
“Our committee has worked hard to create the most normal homecoming week as possible. We still have included a lot of our traditional homecoming events but they will look a little different,” homecoming adviser Julie Fleishnan said.
Most of the events for the week are being held outdoors to adhere to COVID guidelines, including the pep rally that is usually held in the Donald Tucker Civic Center. It will be held in Doak Campbell Stadium. Other events have been modified including their “Karaoke for a Cause,” which is now “Search for a Cause” where students get to learn about on-campus service organizations.
“There were some challenges from seeing what vendors could come on campus, adapting to different policies and taking things from on-campus events that worked out well. It was important to the committee that the student body felt the school spirit and the sense of normalcy as much as possible,”Fleishnan said.
Students said they are excited and looking forward to enjoying homecoming events despite the unusual circumstances due to COVID 19.
“I actually didn’t know about it until yesterday when I was driving around campus and saw something going on at Landis Green, I hopped in the festivities. I’m pretty excited about it, I plan on going to the rest of the activities during the week,” FSU student Robert Cooper said.
Some FAMU students are not so thrilled with what’s happening at FSU.FAMU’s fall homecoming was also canceled — but it was not rescheduled .
“Seeing FSU get a homecoming is kind of unfortunate, since my freshman year was not expected with the many restrictions we have on campus. It makes me envious,” FAMU freshman Amaya Davis said.
This also raises the question: Will FAMU be able to have a homecoming in fall?
“I believe FAMU will have a homecoming in the fall due to FAMU aligning themselves with other universities in our region. While this is exciting and great I hope we can implement safety guidelines and limit the spread of COVID-19,” SGA Senator Amon Mckinney said.
FAMU’s fall homecoming is scheduled for Oct. 30 when the Rattlers host Grambling State University.
The rescheduling of FSU’s spring homecoming lined up in time for the spring football game, making the week feel almost like a complete homecoming.
The remaining events for the week includes Seminole festival, homecoming reverse parade,Homecoming live, Garnet and Gold tailgate, and the Garnet and gold 4 miler.