Smooth dance tunes capture the mood and float to the dance floor, where the silver reflections of the disco ball and colored lights glow over a dancing crowd. A competitive casino-like atmosphere calls from the adjacent room as a scrumptious dessert buffet awaits hungry dancers.
The Second Annual Homecoming Ball will be held Friday, Oct. 20, at 8:30 p.m. in the EMU Ballroom. This year’s theme, “Twilight on the Delta”, is a Mardi Gras dance, and is put on by students for fellow students, faculty and alumni. The Homecoming Ball is a tradition that has just recently been revived at the University. Prior to last year’s Homecoming Ball it had been 30 years since the University held a formal event such as this. Senior Bryan Orthel, co-chair of the Homecoming Ball Committee, hopes that Duck pride can help keep the tradition of the Homecoming Ball alive.
“Homecoming isn’t seen as a big thing but Duck pride is a big part of the University of Oregon,” said Orthel.
Last year, all of the 600 available tickets for the Homecoming Ball, “Masquerade of Monte Carlo,” were sold. The committee hopes to once again reach its goal of 600 people in attendance. Orthel said the real success of last year was that it was a fun evening combined with a jolly atmosphere.
“It was a combination of being dressed up and having a good time,” Orthel said. “The dance floor was packed the entire night; I was impressed.”
Senior Lauren Sivley attended the “Masquerade of Monte Carlo” last year and also said that the atmosphere was inviting.
“Even though it was a formal dance it was a relaxed atmosphere and everyone was there to have a good time,” Sivley said. “People were excited to be there.”
The committee is trying hard to recreate the same exciting atmosphere in “Twilight on the Delta.” The same elements, including a casino, dancing and a dessert buffet, will be part of this yearÕs ball. A prize auction will follow the ball. The prizes ÐÐ including Portland Trailblazer tickets, two $500 Marmot gift certificates and tickets to University basketball games ÐÐ can be bought with mock casino winnings.
But perhaps the biggest prize of all is the restoration of a fun homecoming tradition. Before last year’s event, the last Homecoming Ball was held in 1974 at the old Oregon Armory. There was also a homecoming street dance in 1987, which was held on the east lawn of the EMU. The absence of a Homecoming Ball may have been due to changes in our culture.
“I don’t know why things fell off; maybe political and social climates changed and it wasn’t the most important thing in the 70s, and it fell by the wayside,” Orthel said. ÒStudents are now interested in reclaiming traditions that are falling off.”
The tradition was re-established last year by Greg Byrd and Norine Madden, who have since graduated. Homecoming had deteriorated from a city-wide event that students, alumni and local citizens celebrated to just another football game, as it is for the majority of fans, barring those alumni that normally did not attend the games, Byrd said. “It seemed like a travesty that our school spirit and studentsÕ involvement had deteriorated so greatly in the past couple of decades around this traditionally monumental event,”Byrd said.
When Byrd and Madden began organizing the ball, they had concerns from students that the Homecoming Ball would be like another high school prom. To ensure this was not the case, the committee planned a “bigger evening and made the ball more elegant than a prom,” Orthel said.
Formal attire is not required and it is not necessary to wear a tuxedo or a suit.
“We want everyone to come and have a good time and not feel like they need to wear a tux,” Orthel said.
Forget about the tuxedo and a date, because it is OK to attend single. Sivley attended the Homecoming Ball last year with a date but said not everyone came with one.
“There were couples and groups of girls and guys that looked like they were having fun,” Sivley said. “There were a lot of people there that did not have dates and seemed to be having just as much fun, if not more.”
The best part of the Homecoming Ball, according to Orthel, is that it is original. “There is not another event that is open to the entire University to get dressed up and have a good time,” Orthel said.