After months of planning and imagination Homecoming week has arrived on campus.

The Homecoming theme is: “Imagination Shaping Reality.”

Blythe Burkhardt, one of the general co-chairs for Homecoming, said the theme was chosen in February at a retreat.

“A lot of changes have happened here at Iowa State,” Burkhardt said. Included in those changes were the renovations of the Memorial Union and the beautification of Lake Laverne.

Burkhardt said those projects all started with imagination and then turned into reality with a lot of hard work, hence the Homecoming theme.

“We have great imaginations for a successful Homecoming,” Burkhardt said. “Hopefully it will become a reality.”

The Homecoming Committee was chosen at the end of January. Members have been working on this year’s activities ever since.

Chuck Schleusner, the other general co-chair for Homecoming, said the main goal of the committee this year is to try to get more student participation.

“One of our goals was to get more residence hall participation,” Schleusner said.

Members of the Homecoming Committee went to nearly 40 house meetings to get residence hall students involved with Homecoming activities. There have also been flyers posted around campus.

“I like to think that we’ve gotten more participation from more students,” Burkhardt said. “We are really happy to see the involvement in different events.”

Burkhardt said she is happy the student participation has been so high this year. “I’m glad it has happened,” she said.

The one thing that may have curbed the committee’s efforts at getting more student involvement is the fact that Homecoming is about a month earlier this year.

But that’s a decision that was out of the committee’s hands. The ISU athletic department sets the Homecoming date. “It’s been hard for us to get more students involved, but it gave us an incentive to get going and work on it earlier,” Burkhardt said.

The committee has planned numerous events to get students involved.

Tournaments were held Saturday and Sunday for students and a community service project has been taking place for more than two weeks.

There will be sports tournaments today. Those include: darts, Room 248 in the Memorial Union, and pool, at the Cue Club on Welch. Both events start at 8 p.m.

Schleusner said this morning at the United Methodist Church.

“It is supposed to unite faculty, students and community members to promote the Homecoming spirit,” Schleusner said.

This is the first time the committee is planning something that targets the community.

The painting of victory lane will take place tonight, one night later than in past years. The date was moved because of the Dave Matthews concert. The concert has since been postponed, but the painting of victory lane will still go on from 4:00 to 7:30 p.m. tonight.

Another event that has changed from last year is the night on the town in Campustown. Last year the event was geared toward the bars, but this year the focus has moved away from alcohol.

“Our goal is to move more students into Campustown,” Schleusner said. “We want to try to limit the association with alcohol.”

This year, a day in Campustown will offer students with Homecoming buttons special discounts at all participating Campustown businesses.

Students can get Homecoming buttons by calling the Homecoming office at 294-0198, or at the Alumni Suite in the Union. Members of the Homecoming Committee are also selling buttons for $1.

“I’m really excited,” Schleusner said.

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HOMECOMING EVENTS

Monday, September 23

Pancake Breakfast

6:30 – 8:30 a.m.

Painting – Victory Lane

4 p.m. – dark

Yell-Like-Hell 2nd cuts

5:30 – 7 p.m.

Darts

8 – 11 p.m.

Pool

8 – 11 p.m.