Homecoming is here again, and there are many events that happen throughout the week to pull the week together. 

The theme for this year is Paradise on the Fox, a nod to the Fox River that runs alongside campus. Activities started with window painting on Sunday and will end with the game itself Saturday. 

Many student organizations are participating in the events, ranging from Greek Life, Residence Halls, and other campus clubs.

Along with the events, there is also a Homecoming Court, which students can apply to be crowned homecoming king or queen at the game.

Dylan Bram,  adviser for Reeve Union Board (RUB), oversees many of the events that are held throughout Reeve Memorial Union by his executive board.

One of the first big events to kick off the event was a scavenger hunt all throughout campus.

“The Special Events Chair for Reeve Union Board, Mason Struttmann, who is overseeing all the Homecoming events – put together a fabulous set of clues that will have students traveling all around campus,” Bram said.  “And making teams lean on each other to help get them from clue to clue.”

The scavenger hunt took place on Monday, with BINGO on Tuesday and a comedian on Wednesday.

“Last year, Zachary Easton joined our organization, and we put him at the front of the room to call BINGO – after his first time calling, we had many people coming up to us saying how much fun they had at Zach’s BINGO Hall, and the name stuck,” Bram said.

This has become a tradition throughout RUB, as this isn’t the first time Zach’s BINGO hall has happened this year. 

“This year we have had Zach host BINGO three different times, with the most recent bringing in almost 140 people! We hope to exceed that number during Homecoming,” Bram said. 

On Wednesday, going along with the homecoming tradition of a comedian was Lafayette Wright, who has performed all throughout the Washington, D.C. and New York areas. 

On Thursday night for events is flag football, an event that was brought back after its absence for a few years. 

The event is set as a friendly game between organizations as a way to get hyped up for the big game on Saturday. 

Also being judged on Thursday is the house/hall decorations, where different groups on campus will be judged for how they decorated their houses, halls, and office spaces to fit the homecoming theme.

To wrap up the main events of the week is the Lip Sync/Yell Like Hell, a campus tradition that dates back years. 

“This event has been around for ages, and is at least 15-20 years old, but is a staple of Homecoming week,” Bram said. “Whether you are on a team, or you come to watch as a student, it is always entertaining, and you never know what the groups will come up with!”

Bram himself remembers the event from when he was a student at UW Oshkosh. 

“I actually attended the Lip Sync event as a student back in 2008, and it sticks with me to this day as to how fun and creative some of those groups were (I think Clemans Hall won, which is now where Horizon Village sits),” Bram said. 

The events end with Titan Tailgate in Reeve Union, an event to kick off the big homecoming game on Saturday.

At the event will be the crowning of the homecoming king and queen, and candidate Sam Sasin, a senior at UW Oshkosh, has been enjoying her time as a candidate.  

“So far this has been a really fun and rewarding experience! I highly recommend putting yourself out there and applying even if it is out of your comfort zone,” Sasin said. 

The first few days of her candidacy have been full of events she has gone to, with many events being required throughout the week.

“We learned what events were mandatory and which were optional, what kind of marketing and campaigning we are allowed to do and now that it has begun, it has been very fun,” Sasin said.

Sasin has gotten to take part in service events and was also judged for the office decorations event.

“I went to Service Saturday, which was very fun. I got to go to the EAA museum and dust under all the planes,” Sasin said. “I have also gotten to judge the Homecoming office decorations which was extremely fun because everyone was so creative!”

As the events continue, Sasin is looking forward to the ending of the week’s events. 

“I am looking forward to going to see the comedian and also seeing all the families at Titan Tailgate before the football game on Saturday,” Sasin said. 

Titan Tailgate and the football game at 1:30 p.m. against UW Stout end homecoming week’s events for students, have a happy great rest of homecoming week!