How to survive homecoming week at Auburn University
Avoid the concourse or get a t-shirt
It’s basically the biggest weekend of the year, but it can be exhausting, confusing and a little hectic. Here’s how to get through seamlessly.
Participate in the weekend’s events
There is more to homecoming week than the Miss Homecoming campaign. Homecoming weekend usually brings a lot of people and a lot of activities. Friday night is the Homecoming concert with Echosmith put on by UPC and the Office of Alumni Affairs. This is sure to bring a big crowd and is completely free! We also, of course, have the game this weekend which is guaranteed to be a good time.
Avoid the concourse
On to the obvious – Miss Homecoming campaigns. If you find yourself on the concourse during homecoming week you are sure to feel extremely overwhelmed. People will be yelling at you from every direction and you have to decide if you are going to engage with them or ignore them. If you are brave enough to engage with people you may score yourself some free stuff, BUT you will be sacrificing a lot of your time. If you are supporting a campaign get out there and have fun, you can meet people and get some great pictures.
Get a t-shirt
If you get a t-shirt you are pretty much set for the week. No one will bother you on the concourse if they know you are already supporting someone. Getting a t-shirt is also a good excuse to not have to decide what to wear all week. Campaign weeks are the only times that it is socially acceptable to wear the same exact thing for an entire week. It is great to be able to wake up in the morning and not have to decide what you are going to wear. And they are usually very cheap (and super cute).
Tell people you are already supporting someone
If you don’t want to talk to someone on the concourse simply tell them that you are supporting someone already – whether you really are or not. They will stop their spiel and let you go on your way.
Get involved
Get involved in a campaign. This can actually be a lot of fun. Whether you are on someone’s top five, top 20, or just simply a supporter – there is always something you can be doing to help out. If you are particularly passionate about a certain campaign you can help raise money for their cause, go to benefit nights and help out on the concourse.
Know the platforms
If you don’t have time to talk to people on the concourse you can find most of the campaign platforms somewhere online:
Support something bigger than yourself
We all joke about how horrible campaign weeks are and we sometimes forget that we can actually help people. By supporting any of these young women for Miss Homecoming you are helping someone, whether it be someone in the Auburn community or otherwise. You can donate to the organizations that these candidates are supporting or go to one of their benefit nights. You don’t have to buy a t-shirt or change all your social media pictures to support someone or something. At the end of the day, it’s not about the t-shirts, the concourse, the voting, or the free stuff, it’s about the people these young women want to help.