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Homecoming delights
By Carol Seavey & Geoff Higgins
 Media Credit: Jason Risberg Esthella Thorpe reacts with surprise as she is crowned Homecoming Queen Thursday night in Ritsche Auditorium by last year’s winner, Krystal Gerhardt. Her brother, Eamonn, was named King. The siblings represented the African Students’ Association.
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Cold weather didn’t hinder any events or festivities for SCSU’s 2002 week long homecoming celebration.
Ritsche Auditorium was packed Thursday for the crowning of this year’s king and queen in a Hollywood-like atmosphere. The evening provided glamour and entertainment for candidates and audience members, alike.
Kelly Jackson opened the evening by singing the National Anthem, followed by a performance by the SCSU Dance Team.
SCSU president Roy Saigo challenged the audience’s minds with some SCSU trivia followed by a short speech by vice president of Student Government, Desiree Westby.
The SCSU Cheer Team got the audience pumped up with their highflying gymnastics.
Football coach Randy Hedberg and hockey coach Craig Dahl gave a pep talk.
Dancers and musicians dazzled onlookers with their spectacular talent. Most competed in the Talent Showcase earlier in the week.
The student showcase included musicians Patrick Gibbs, Kash Ahua and John Austad and dancer Jermaine Wiley.
All of the homecoming candidates walked the runway in their best garb.
The candidates were judged in three events, according to Jesse Birnstihl, who was last year’s homecoming king. They played Hollywood-themed games, were interviewed and, finally, were voted on by their peers.
Royalty
This year the king and queen are really a royal family; brother and sister, to be exact. Both from the African Student Association, Eamonn and Estella Thorpe excitedly accepted their crowns.
“I was excited, happy and screaming,” said Estella Thorpe, a senior International Business major.
Queen Estella and King Eamonn’s reign lasted all weekend including a ride in the parade, a trip to the football game and being special guests at the Harvest Moon Alumni Banquet. As for future duties, they will pass their crowns on to next year’s king and queen. Eamonn Thorpe, a senior Business Computer Information Systems major, has a goal to fulfill before passing his duties on.
“Personally, I would like to get more international students involved in homecoming,” he said.
The organizers were proud that the event was a success, but they still experienced some nervous jitters before the show was all said and done.
“We thought we lost the robes for a while, but we found them,” Birnsthil said. “I guess that was a little nerve-wracking.”
Tail-gating party
Additional entertainment this year was the tail-gating party, sponsored by the Dogg Pound Club. There was food and fun for everyone wanting to get pumped up before the game; KISS 96 provided music while hotdogs, burgers, chips and pop were served.
“It was good meeting people and showing some school spirit,” said Drew Lustgraaf, freshman, Aviation major.
Dogg Pound vice president Tom “T.K.” Krueger, junior, Mass Communications major, was pleased with the turnout.
“I would say (there were) 150 people with a lot of good spirit and pride and I think that was a good thing to see,” Krueger said.
The Dogg Pound Club are the superfans at SCSU sporting events. Krueger believes that they help bring in more fans to the events.
No room
“I was at last year’s homecoming game and there were plenty of seats available,” Krueger said.
This year the club had reserved some seats for after the tailgating party but they were already taken.
“The people really said, ‘hey we’re here and we want to support Husky athletics,’ and you could not find a seat at kickoff time,” Krueger said. “The place was packed, crowds were loud, fans were cheering, flags were waving and fans were in the stands doing chants.”
Other events included comedian Brad Lowery, a talent showcase, and debate. However, attendance for these events was low.
“We thought it had a lot to do with the Twins games,” Westby said. “(But) it was a lot of fun.”
Staff Writer Drew Sandholm contributed to this report.
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