the rocket
Friday October 12, 2018 • Volume 103, Issue Number 2 • An Independent, Student-Run Newspaper
www.theonlinerocket.com
An evolving tradition: SRU Homecoming By Hannah Shumsky Assistant News Editor
This weekend, SRU will crown two students as homecoming royalty instead of a king and queen, making SRU the second university in Pennsylvania and the fifth in the United States to form a genderinclusive court. This historic change, however, tells only part of the history of SRU’s homecoming. The first mention of “homecoming” in The Rocket was on May 27, 1927, referring to the annual Alumni Day; however, the first fall homecoming was on Oct. 13, 1934. Alumni of Slippery Rock State Teachers College participated in Demonstration Day in the morning at the Training School. In the afternoon, a parade with bands, floats and current and former students traveled to the stadium in time for the football game kickoff. The evening concluded with an ox roast with the president and dean of women. The roast was an annual event until 1937, when North Hall was completely destroyed on Oct. 16 due to a fire from the roast. In 1938, the homecoming schedule changed the ox roast to a barbeque dinner in the dining hall. Caroline Williams was named the first homecoming queen of Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1940. As part of the queen’s royal duties, she presented the football to the football players—"the gridders”—prior to the game. Homecoming festivities were put on hold during World War II. The “first real homecoming” since the war was held on Oct. 4-6, 1946. During this homecoming, festivities included a bonfire and “pep meeting” Friday night and a parade featuring marching bands from Butler, Slippery Rock and Indiana (Pa.).
IMAGES COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES (LEFT) AND THE OFFICE FOR STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP (RIGHT)
SRU is rehashing an old theme this year for homecoming. "There's No Place Like Homecoming" harkens back to the popular 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz," just as they did back in 1984.
“The bands were followed by floats depicting schoollife in pre-war days,” an article in The Rocket’s Oct. 17, 1946 issue stated. The following year, Jean Evans was named the first homecoming queen since the war. Each year, one female was selected to represent the freshmen,
sophomore, junior and senior classes on the court. The homecoming court structure changed drastically throughout the 1970s. Starting in 1972, to accommodate the growing number of students on campus, court members were nominated by organizations recognized through the Student
SEE FLUIDITY PAGE A-3
First look at SRU's first lady writer, publishing a total of 15 books and penning hundreds of articles. "Bill and Leah's Excellent Adventure" is the phrase she uses to describe her and her husband's new life in Slippery Rock. The film references don't stop there. Ingram affectionately compares her and Bill's relationship to the film "When Harry Met Sally." "We actually first met in fourth grade and graduated high school together," Ingram said. "We really didn't like each other all that much back then. After college, we reconnected one day when we were both out visiting our moms for Mother's Day. We ran into each other on the train platform in Long Island, and there's this sort of etiquette rule that if you see someone you know that you have to ride with them." After continually running into each other in New York City, Ingram felt as though the universe was trying to tell them something. They've now been married for nearly 26 years and have two daughters. In the early 1990s, shortly after her and Bill's marriage, Ingram was trying to get her career started as a freelance writer as her husband began to build his profile in education. It was around this time that she published her first book on wedding planning, a subject that she had recently learned all about. "Whenever I was in school pursuing my journalism degree, they always PHOTO COURTESY OF LEAH INGRAM taught us to write what we know," Ingram said. "I had just gotten married, so Leah Ingram, mother of two and wife of SRU President Dr. William Behre, gets some love and attention I knew that I'd be able to offer some advice on how to properly budget and from her two dogs, Oscar and Sadie. prepare for a wedding." By Adam Zook Ingram got her bachelor's degree in journalism from New York University, News Editor often joking that she is the most uneducated member of the family. In terms When people ask Leah Ingram how the transition from New Jersey to of accomplishment however, her prowess as a published writer is very much Slippery Rock has been for her and her husband, she finds herself giving on par with Bill's accomplishments in academia. similar answers. She signed a contract with Parade magazine in 2013 and regularly contributes "I just tell people that western Pennsylvania isn't all that different from where three to five articles a month, and recently started contributing pet content as we used to live in eastern Pennsylvania," Ingram said. "The only real difference well to their website. Ingram is even featured in Parade's print publications. is that here you don't say soda or sneakers; it's pop and tennis shoes." Prior to that, most of her clients were custom publications. Brands like Delta Ingram is the mother of two and the wife of newly appointed university and Costco that have magazines have featured some of her articles. president Dr. William Behre. She has had a successful career as a freelance SEE INGRAM PAGE A-4
News
Opinion A-2
80 Years of SGA
Sports B-1
Redefining a Tradition
Campus Life D-3
C-3
12 Receivers, One Game
A Drag-Star is Born