By: Noah Nunez
General Reporter
Hundreds of students gathered together in the Wintergreen Parking Lot at Moore Field House on Thursday, Oct. 8 for the university’s “Pep Rally” to cheer on and celebrate the football team before their homecoming game.
The event itself saw many students celebrate the accomplishments of the university’s team, including Nicholas Fournier, a graduate, excited for the football team’s game.
“This is like the first year where we just have like heavy hitters all around, like this is the best start to a football season that I have seen. Homecoming, my freshman year, we lost like 50 nothing,” Fournier said.
The event saw multiple sports teams going on stage to thank students and faculty for their support in showing up to the event and being there for the players.
With the Homecoming game being a few days away from when the event took place, the football team as a whole took the time to go up on stage and deliver a message collectively thanking everyone.
“I just want to thank you guys for all the support this season. You guys should come out on Jess Dow on Saturday; we’ll throw on a show for you. We appreciate all the support; it doesn’t go unnoticed,” the team said.
Along with the celebration that went on, there were multiple vendors and activities to take part in, such as a strap-in trampoline and a snow cone stand meant for students to enjoy as the night went on.
Students such as political science major Zaeda Reid, a sophomore, found the event to be fun and a nice way to relax as they went into midterms.
“It just gives us something fun to do. Like, it’s October, so we’re dealing with like schoolwork upcoming midterms; I guess it relieves some type of stress by being surrounded by the people that give the community,” Reid said.
The event went on into the night with dance battles and giveaways happening on stage while students gathered up front to wait in anticipation or join in on the dancing.
Events like this are what students like nursing major Kamia Vaughn, a sophomore, look forward to.
“It’s a good start to our weekend,” Vaughn said. “I won’t have to travel off campus.”
Even with the size of the university, getting students and faculty close together like this shows how we are more than just a group of students huddled together.
“I mean, we’re like a small campus, but we aren’t at the same time, so it’s nice to have just athletes and nonathletes being able to come together, mingle, hang out and have fun with each other,” Fournier said.
The event eventually wound down with the music coming to an end and the dancing dissolving away, but the message being sent with events like these is support and community.
Saying and doing are two very different things. Students can talk about supporting sports teams all they want, but being there is another thing; at events like these, they can show the Owls their support and still have a fun night.
