For freshmen who still have memories of high school homecoming lingering in their minds, Iowa State’s Homecoming may be a confusing event — especially for the student who does not know quite what to expect.

“Homecoming, to me, doesn’t really spark any sort of interest,” said Keith Majors, a freshman in architecture. “I think the reason [for the lack of interest] is I don’t really know what’s going on. But most of the upper-classmen are probably really excited, I mean, the word ‘Homecoming’ itself gives them something to be excited about.”

Although most of the students interviewed seemed to have positive memories of their high school homecoming, some of the freshmen expressed general apathy or indifference toward ISU’s Homecoming.

“I guess I’m somewhat indifferent [about ISU’s Homecoming] because I don’t really know what to expect,” said Krista Koester, a freshman in dietetics. “But, hopefully ISU’s Homecoming will still be fun. If it’s anything like Homecoming in Ankeny, it will be great.”

Other students expressed similar sentiments.

“[ISU Homecoming] is not really exciting to me,” said Sarah Schuchardt, a freshman in mechanical engineering. “I don’t really care at all. I loved Homecoming in high school, but it’s kind of different here.”

Schuchardt said the familiar faces on her high school football team may have made the difference in school spirit.

“There I knew everyone on the team, and it was like, ‘Go team!'” Schuchardt said. “Here I don’t really know anyone on the team, and I don’t care whether we win or lose.”

Combating “freshmen apathy” was one of the key concerns for Homecoming Central, said Homecoming co-chairwoman Andrea Horst.

Horst, a graduate student in agricultural and biosystems engineering, said Homecoming Central has been working with the residence halls and the freshman council to figure out how to get freshmen more involved with Homecoming activities.

“We really want freshmen to get involved, because if students get involved as freshmen, they’re more likely to be involved later on [in their college career],” Horst said.

Horst said her freshman Homecoming, nearly five years ago, was a very positive experience. She recommends Homecoming activities such as mass-campaniling to help freshmen get acquainted with ISU Homecoming Spirit.

Academically, the Homecoming week has been proven to cause numerous distractions for freshmen students. Added pressure can come in the form of challenging tests or midterms.

Judd Harbin, a psychology intern with the student counseling center, said Homecoming and the pressures surrounding the Homecoming weekend can be “a great opportunity for freshmen to learn how to mange their lives.”

“It can be a stressful time for the new freshmen,” Harbin said. “Some students may experience problems trying to keep up with their classes and midterms.”

Harbin said ISU Homecoming is a “mixed blessing” for students.

“It can be a stress, since students may want to participate in many Homecoming activities, but they have to keep up with their regular work as well,” Harbin said. “[Whether there are problems] varies from student to student, but it can be a great time for students to learn time-management skills.”

Harbin said Homecoming is not necessarily a time for excessive alcohol or drug abuse.

“[The freshmen] have probably already been exposed [to alcohol and drugs,]” Harbin said. “They’ve already seen the drinking associated with the football games. It won’t be any shock to them.”

However, the social aspect of Homecoming will be the exciting part for many freshmen.

“There will be a lot of partying,” said Jill Seagard, a freshman in biological and premedical illustration. Seagard mentioned that many women in Wallace Hall have been talking about the parties accompanying Homecoming.

According to the Department of Public Safety, Homecoming is not necessarily a problematic weekend in terms of underage alcohol abuse or drug abuse.

Jerry Stewart, associate director of DPS, said historically, ISU has only had about four to five citations of underage drinking at the actual Homecoming game.

“In our experience, there haven’t been any unusual experiences,” Stewart said. “Homecoming has never resulted in numerous arrests for underage drinking.”

Charity involvement and the “expressions of spirit” that accompany Homecoming also seem to be popular for new freshman.

“I’m in the pre-vet club, and we seem to have a lot of involvement in different activities,” said Julie Kruse, a freshman in animal science. Kruse said the Habitat for Humanity house appeared to be one of the most popular projects for the club.

“There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of hype [surrounding Homecoming],” Kruse said.