Drury homecoming is set to be on the weekend of Feb. 16: A weekend of free sweatshirts, stellar activities and unforgettable entertainment, with the Student Union Board heading the homecoming festivities.

Budget Challenges

With a budget of a little over $40,000, a committee of students, with the help of a staff-advisor, took on the responsibility of creating a memorable homecoming for Drury students. However, at first it seemed that SUB would not be able to attain the vision that they had originally hoped for.

Initially the plan was to partner with KDRU, the campus radio station, and form a joint concert event, but things became trickier when the budget request hit Student Government Association (SGA).

“Due to a misunderstanding between SUB and KDRU, the partnership fell through and a portion of the event funding was lost,” said Kat Sittenauer, sophomore and Student Government Association member.

Sittenauer went on to explain that SUB then had to re-appeal to SGA for their pre-existing budget. Many of the members of SGA were wary about re-distributing the funds, but after an appeal was presented by SUB advisor, Alexis Guth, the case was made and the request was approved.

With their newly reinstated budget, SUB’s next goal was to bring quality entertainment to Drury’s campus. But what exactly did Drury want?

SUB decided to poll the student body with the choice of numerous artists and celebrities who could potentially come to the university campus and provide high-quality entertainment.

“[Guth] created the poll in order to get direct student input, something that hadn’t been considered as much in the past,” said Lyndsey Standage, sophomore and vice president of special events.

The poll results found that most students wanted the band Smash Mouth to perform, however, they were not able to be booked because of scheduling conflicts. The distribution of the other choices was too spread to determine a clear second choice.

The SUB Homecoming committee decided that a comedian would be the best option to settle on, especially considering the success of Trevor Noah, a famous comedian who preformed last semester.

“I think the Homecoming committee and I decided on a comedian because of the diverse crowd we could attract, unlike a band where people’s music tastes tend to be more specific,” said Standage.

SUB eventually found their entertainment in the form of comedian and voice actor Dan Mintz, who acquired most of his fame as the voice actor of Tina Belcher, from the popular animated show “Bob’s Burgers.”

Standage is excited to have such a well-known comedian come to Drury.

“Once we found out [Mintz] was an option, we went for it. His agent was easy to work with, allowing the preparations for Homecoming to go smoothly,” she said.

“My heart, my heart”

Mintz, originally from Alaska, is also famous for his writing on shows such as “Nathan for You,” “Lucky Louie,” and “Son of Zorn.” The latter earned Mintz a 2017 WGA Award nomination for the episode “A Taste of Zephyria.”

Aside from voicing Tina Belcher, Mintz also works as a writer for the HBO Emmy-award winning series, “Veep”.

His comedy style is best described as witty one-liners rather than traditional story telling. Albeit a bit jarring at first, Mintz is able to give his audience a show they will not forget.

According to Guth, her main goal was to bring in someone that students have heard of or could relate to.

“Lots of other schools bring in celebrities and that’s something the students get really excited about, “ said Guth. “While we have brought in other comedians in the past we haven’t been able to bring in a really well-known name in a few years.”

According to Guth, SUB is using the same system and planning process that they used the year before, and hopes to build further on that success. Step one: placing the focus of Homecoming on the actual games and encourage students to attend those first.

“We wouldn’t want to host programs that would take away from the whole point of Homecoming in the first place,” said Guth.

Homecoming activities

This year, SUB hopes that many students will attend the basketball games.

The first games will be held Thursday evening at O’Reilly Family Event Center against Lewis University. The women will begin at 5:45 p.m. while the men will play after at 8 p.m. According to Guth, it is during these games that the Homecoming court will be announced.

Friday is the night of Mintz, whose performance will be at 8 p.m. at Clara Thompson Hall. Giveaways will be done at the end of the performance, so students must stay until the end if they wish to obtain the free items.While Clara has been viewed as less-than-roomy by students in the past, Guth is certain that the space will be big enough to host the event.

“Clara Thompson can hold 425 students,” said Guth. “You wouldn’t think it when you looked at it, but it can definitely hold a large number of the student body, so right now I would say that our activities are available to all students.”

Saturday is the big day. The theme is “Into the 80’s’!” so make sure to come dressed like you’re ready to get groovy. Students are also encouraged to wear Drury colors or wear Drury gear and capture all moments of Panther pride on social media using the hashtag #AllWeDUisWin.

The women’s basketball team will begin at 1 p.m. against the University of Wisconsin-Parkside at the O’Reilly Family Event Center. The men’s team will follow at 3 p.m.

“Into the Future: BBQ Dinner & Silent Auction” takes place at 5 p.m., hosted by Drury Women’s Auxiliary at the Findlay Student Center Ballroom.  The event will host an abundant BBQ buffet dinner, a silent auction and time with fellow Panther fans. All funds raised go toward Drury scholarships. Entry fee is $30 per person in advance and $40 per person at the door.

Lastly, the Drury University Bookstore will be offering 20 percent off selected sweaters during Homecoming weekend, Feb. 16-17. Make sure to stop by and stock up.

Overall, Guth and other SUB members are very excited to see these new ideas and changes come to life.

“There will be a lot of cool giveaways, a lot of fun activities, and we’ll also be doing our court [winner] announcement,” she said. 

However, Guth added, “We have a limited number of giveaways, of course, so I really encourage students to come out to events and come out to the events early, but then also stay for them.

This year’s homecoming is also revolutionary for the university due to  its new royalty rules Homecoming Court will be Gender Inclusive, allowing more people to participate than ever before. While court members must be nominated by their fellow students, they will be called royalty and be able to pick their pronouns, whereas before the court was relegated to the ‘King,’ and ‘Queen.’

Students have already responded positively to the changes.

“They’re taking good steps to make Homecoming a bigger event and they’re even looking to expand May Ball, as well. I just think they’re headed in the right direction of getting Drury students more involved in the events,” said junior Brayden Jones.

Spreading the word for the event was handled partially by Carter Sifferman, sophomore and SUB member.

“I work on the public relations committee for SUB and I even designed the posters that we will use to publicize the event,” said Sifferman. “I’m a computer science major, so I really like any opportunity to be creative.”

Make sure to keep an eye out for Sifferman’s posters and show up early for all of Homecomings activities. That way you can walk out with some awesome free swag, courtesy of Drury’s Student Union Board, and enjoy all of the festivities that Homecoming has to offer.

Article by Ryan Smith and Ciera DuBan.