In the past, OU's annual Homecoming week had a predominant theme that encouraged students to be more involved in the event. There would be float and banner design competitions, and organizations and clubs could connect, compete and display their idea of what the university's theme meant, according to a previous Post report.
Jim Sabin, a university spokesperson, said OU would no longer focus on a specific Homecoming theme as of 2021.
"Rather than focusing on a separate theme each year, we decided to embrace the real theme of the event – coming home to OHIO, each year," Sabin wrote in an email.
The university intends to implement interactive activities and events that encourage students to want to be more involved with Homecoming week, said Jennifer Bowie, the interim associate vice president of alumni relations and executive director of the OU Alumni Association and advancement chief of staff.
"(The Campus Involvement Center's) goal is to get students to participate and provide opportunities and engagements and activities that get students to come out and be part of the community. A theme isn't necessary for that," Bowie said.
However, Abby Slanker, a 1993 alumna who studied English, said how integral the Homecoming theme was for her and her sorority sisters.
"It was a huge bonding experience for all of us building the float and we knew we wanted it to be perfect for all our alum sisters and all of OU's alumni," Slanker wrote in an email. "We would anxiously await the announcement of the Homecoming theme and would start designing our float the minute we knew the theme."
Similarly, Anne McCarthy, a 1993 alumna who studied communication, said she was disappointed to learn the university no longer utilizes themes to include the student body in the Homecoming festivities.
"I was not aware that there weren't any floats anymore," McCarthy wrote in an email. "That is a shame. It is a great excuse for clubs and groups to come together and promote their organizations, all while deepening their connections to each other."
The decision to no longer sponsor Homecoming themes was made because it seemed to hold less value to the Athens community and OU students each year, Bowie said.
"We create these themes and, quite frankly, go through a lot of trouble to create them and have local competitions, and then really nothing other than a logo came out of the theme," Bowie said.
Bowie said if the university continues to focus on other activities and events that make alums feel at home, themes will no longer be a necessary aspect of Homecoming.
"Themes have run their course over decades, and right now we're in one of those places where it doesn't seem like an important part," Bowie said.
However, Slanker said she thinks OU should reimplement Homecoming themes to create a stronger connection between the student body and the celebration.
"I wholeheartedly believe that OU should bring back the floats and themes again to get the student body more involved," Slanker wrote in an email. "Some of my best memories of OU are building that float with my friends and then the anticipation of watching it roll down Court Street with them alongside a crowd of thousands."
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