This weekend's annual homecoming celebrations are expected to be bigger than ever.
As of Wednesday, 1,700 alumni had registered for Homecoming activities—more than a 64 percent increase from the same time last year, said Sterly Wilder, Trinity ’83 and associate vice president of Alumni Affairs. Wilder said the increase in attendance might be partially attributed to the Alumni Association’s decision to hold a first year reunion for the first time this year.
“We’ve really encouraged the Class of 2014 to come back to campus, and we’ve been so pleased by the response,” Wilder said. “Registrations just keep pouring in. Everyone has different reasons for coming, whether it’s about football or seeing friends, but they all share that same desire to get back on campus.”
Registration is ongoing, Wilder noted, so a final count of attendees is not yet available. She added that registration is not required, meaning that the actual number of alumni in attendance could be even higher than current numbers suggest.
An especially large number of affinity groups—including Duke University Black Alumni Connection, Duke University Hispanic/Latino Association and Duke LGBT Network—will be participating in the celebrations this year, Wilder said.
“As in the past, the cornerstone events will be the President’s dance on Friday night and the football game on Saturday, both of which we’re very excited about,” Wilder said.
She encouraged students to attend both the dance and Saturday’s game, when Duke and the University of Virginia will face off in Wallace Wade stadium at 12:30 p.m. The first time Duke has played an ACC opponent for a homecoming game since 2008, the game will earn the Blue Devils bowl eligibility if they win.
Wilder said that preparations for the festivities, which began approximately a year ago, have gone smoothly thus far. Although ongoing campus construction will be a new sight for some alumni—including work on the West Union, Page Auditorium and Perkins and Bostock Libraries—the renovations have not negatively impacted the Homecoming activities, Wilder said.
“We’re actually using the construction to our advantage,” she noted. “We’ll be giving tours of the campus, and using it as a way to showcase the changes that are happening.”
She credited student and alumni volunteers for their dedication in helping out with the events.
“A lot of volunteers have put a lot of work into this weekend, and their dedication is one of the things that makes it so special,” Wilder said.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.