Homecoming review: Are the 19’s the best class ever?
‘There were 12 reported cases of people touching the fire’
I remember being very cold and worried about the fire not lighting due the the torrential downpour earlier in the day. I kept thinking to myself, Light the damn fire already. I wanted to leave the rain and venture back to my dorm. I just wanted to get over with it already.
But soon my doubts and worries disappeared. Despite the downpour last Friday night, the Homecoming Bonfire raged. ’19s ran around the ginormous fire, while being yelled at by upperclassmen and alumni, keeping up with tradition. The sparks flying off the fire fueled my adrenaline, and soon I forgot about the rain.
As a ’19 you were supposed to run around the fire at least 19 times. For those long distance runners, you could take the challenge of running 119 times around, which would be close to 14 miles.
Reportedly, a girl on crutches finished all 119 laps, making us fully abled people feel pretty bad about our weak attempts. I barely made the 19 laps, and I had the help of a fellow ’19 who carried me on his back for one lap.
Thanks to Katie Dishner
Although running around in circles is fun, the real fun is watching people attempt to touch the fire. An unspoken tradition, touching the fire is a sort of requirement in order to prevent being dubbed the title “worst class ever.”
This year there were 12 reported cases of people touching the fire. Touching the fire comes with a serious price if caught by S&S or HP: a hefty $1000 fine, plus possibly college probation for the rest of fall term.
Thanks to Katie Dishner
This year, one boy was literally ripped out of the hands of S&S by his friends. He seemingly got away scot-free.
Like last year, a student who was not lucky enough to avoid the fine, created a gofundme page to help pay. He is still trying to raise the money. YikYak was full of touching the fire stories.
There were even pictures of people touching the fire, supplied from multiple sources. All in all, the ’19s were very successful this year.
I’d say my first homecoming was pretty great.