Autumn is drawing near, and the Student Programming Council (SPC) marked the change of season with a “Welcome to Wonderland”-themed Homecoming Week, based on Lewis Carroll’s classic novel, Alice in Wonderland. Daily themes were punny and featured attractions like tasty food and costumed characters. On the whole, we at the Wheel feel that the week was a success.
The week began with the “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party” event in Asbury Circle, which felt like a Wonderful Wednesday that had lost its way. Asbury Circle was filled with music, food trucks and a plethora of students. SPC relied more on a word-of-mouth and the successful “Weeks of Welcome” initiative, providing very little material advertising. While this means of promoting an event could be effective for those who spend most of their time on campus (first-year students), it failed to catch the attention of students who might not be directly exposed to it. However, the event was held later in the afternoon, which, we believe, gave students who might otherwise have been occupied to attend the event.
Tuesday heralded the “Queen of Darts,” a Jackson Pollock-style collaborative art project, and “Alice’s Coffee House,” which featured free Blue Donkey iced coffee. Alice’s Coffee House was supposed to be held in the Woodruff Health Sciences quad, but was ultimately moved to Asbury Circle on the day of the event. We recognize that the event was intended to include more graduate students, but we feel that the last-minute change of venue defeated this purpose. Again, we feel that these events could have been better advertised, and we encourage SPC to place more emphasis on events during the week, rather than just on the weekend concerts.
We sincerely appreciate that Thursday’s comedy show, presented by Brent Morin, was not hosted in Glenn Memorial Auditorium, as it has been in the past several years. Although Harland Cinema is a somewhat smaller venue, we feel that it is more conducive to such a performance and avoided the problems of difficult acoustics and potential offensive jokes in a religious space that previous comedians have encountered while performing in the church. Morin’s comedy was hilariously self-deprecating, and we like that he tailored his jokes to Emory students. We also appreciate that SPC has consistently chosen up-and-coming comedians, which affords students the opportunity to experience new forms and styles of performance.
Friday’s event was the Homecoming Ball, featuring a performance by EDM DJ trio Cash Cash. The Friday Homecoming concert is intended to liven up Emory’s campus with a little music and dancing, and this year’s show was no exception. Although Cash Cash’s performance was, in terms of musical quality, unremarkable, we feel that they struck the intended atmosphere for the event. However, we take issue with certain elements of the duo’s visual performance, some of which included drawn images of naked women. We feel that such a display was crass and unnecessary, especially within a community where many members strive to break down the over-sexualized barriers needed to achieve gender equality.
The weekend drew to a close on Saturday with the Homecoming Parade and a performance by 90s alt-rock band Sugar Ray. Although turnout for the parade was small, those in attendance appeared to be enjoying themselves. We congratulate SPC for selecting an artist that drew on nostalgia from both current students and alumni. The atmosphere on McDonough was warm and sunny, and we feel that afternoon concerts such as this one are a great way to bring the entire Emory community together.
The above staff editorial represents the majority opinion of the Wheel’s editorial board.
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
