Students and alumni turned out for Homecoming 2014 in record numbers.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 alumni returned to campus for the weekend's festivities, estimated Sterly Wilder, Trinity ’83 and associate vice president for alumni affairs. She said this year’s Homecoming had one of the best turnouts in recent years. Wilder said a number of factors—including the ideal weather, enthusiasm about the football team and introduction of a first year reunion—contributed to excitement about the weekend.
"There were so many highlights—it was a big hit," Wilder said. "I think it was a great foundation on which to build even bigger weekends in the future."
Wilder said that of the estimated alumni on campus, approximately 2,200 actually registered for Homecoming activities online. She explained, though, that because registration is not required, the actual number of attendees was higher.
Traditional Homecoming events like President Brodhead’s dance on Friday and Saturday’s football game against the University of Virginia were well attended. Alumni also appreciated new events—Wilder said—including a dinner specifically for the Class of 2014 on Saturday.
The first year reunion was co-chaired by Eliza Bray, Trinity ’14 and former Recess photography editor for The Chronicle, and Vinesh Kapil, Trinity ’14. Bray said she hoped it would develop a sense of class camaraderie.
“Real life is fun, but everyone is so excited to come back to campus and loves Duke so much,” Bray said. "We wanted to capitalize on that excitement right away."
She and Kapil helped organize “Saturday Night at Satis," an event where the Class of 2014 had the opportunity to wrap up their weekend at Satisfaction Restaurant.
"Our job wasn't hard because there was already so much excitement surrounding the weekend," Bray said. "A lot of people were already planning on coming back to campus, so we just sent emails reminding them to register."
More than 400 members of the Class of 2014 registered for Homecoming activities this year—a jump compared to the approximately 50 that have signed up in past years, Bray noted.
“Everyone seemed excited, so it would be great to build off of that momentum and create some sort of tradition for future years,” Bray said.
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