HAVING A BLAST AT THE TAILGATING PICNIC
By Jen Bissu
Issue date: 10/24/05 Section: Campus Life
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There was no shortage of things to do! In the alumni tent, a singer stood upon a stage and belted out ballads and rock'n'roll tunes by classics such as The Platters, The Duprees, Dion and the Belmonts, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley! Across the parking lot, the DJ spun hits of several decades, from disco to 80's "hair bands." Students, alumni, staff and friends kicked up their feet during the Charleston dance contest, and the dance floor was packed for the Electric Slide. Music of the Beach Boys blared out over the loudspeakers as several eager contestants gyrated in the Hula Hoop contest. A caricaturist made great souvenirs doing personalized cartoon caricatures in black marker on paper printed with "Kean University Homecoming 2005" in the corner. There was a photography stand, where you picked out an outfit from a variety of decades, posed in front of a green backdrop, and then they superimposed a period-correct background into the image before printing it. Another stand allowed patrons to make their own gel-candles, by dropping little decorative trinkets into the gel before it solidified. Nearby was a "make-your-own-keychain" table, where you could personalize keychains with letters and little footballs, soccer balls, etc. Kids and adults alike ditched their shoes and hopped onto the giant air platform for a game of Twister.
Several Greek organizations, as well as other Kean groups, had a great time showing their originality! Rho Theta Tau's theme was "Special Birthdays," and the girls were each dressed up as a different special birthday, from "Baby's First Birthday" to "Sweet Sixteen." They covered their car and decorated it to look like a cake, and one of the girls popped through the sun roof! A pile of presents wrapped in pretty paper and bows sat beside the car-cake. Nu Delta Pi and Theta Phi Alpha joined forces to build an impressive birthday cake float for Kean, decorated with photos of Kean over the years. Sorority Lambda Chi Rho made a huge birthday card out of a thin wood (it must have been about eight feet tall), and they offered a tray of markers to anyone who wanted to sign it. Sorority Omega Sigma Psi decorated their car with photos and written info to tell the story of Kean through the decades. Nu Sigma Tau's theme was "Over the Hill;" they had a big poster across the hood with hundreds of little pictures of Kean over the years, and some alumni even came over and pointed to pictures and said, "Hey-I remember that!" Kean University P.R.I.D.E., whose theme was "Kean pride," had a table set up at which they were giving away candy. Delta Phi Epsilon's theme was "Kean: 150 Years;" the presentation was very creative! They built a three-dimensional timeline that everyone could walk through and look at, and the sorority girls were dressed up in costume representing the decades from 1855 to present. Sigma Beta Tau's theme was simply "150 Years," and the Pan African Student Union's (PASU) theme was "African Heritage." The Association of Latin American Students' (ALAS) tent featured info about their club and about the Hispanic Latino Alumni Chapter (HLAC). So finally, here's the big news-the winners of the Tailgating Contest! Honorable Mention went to Lambda Chi Rho; Third Place went to Rho Theta Tau; Second Place went to Delta Phi Epsilon, and Nu Delta Pi & Theta Phi Alpha won First Place. "Everyone was very creative. The music was good too-we all got down to the 80's music they played," said Junior psychology and occupational therapy major Liza Krin. "It's amazing how many decades Kean has been here through, and it's great to see how everyone still keeps their spirit strong."
Towards the end of the day, Nu Delta Pi and Theta Phi Alpha placed a real cake upon their cake float, and President Farahi cut the cake so everyone could enjoy a piece. "Just look at the 150th birthday cake-everyone did a fantastic job," declared President Farahi. "Nearly 3500 people were here. That's a huge number-I don't remember ever seeing that many. Homecoming this year was terrific!"
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