It is that time of year again at Drury University: Homecoming! This year’s homecoming week takes place from Monday, Feb. 25 through Friday, March 1. It is a festive time to celebrate and support our basketball teams at their games and participate in special homecoming activities sponsored by the Student Union Board (SUB).

The homecoming basketball games 

Of course, the real point of homecoming week is the basketball games. Tickets for both sets of games will be five dollars, and the games will be held in the O’Reilly Events Center. 

On Thursday, Feb. 28, the men’s and women’s basketball teams will play against Rockhurst starting at 5:45 p.m. At this game, the homecoming court will be announced. 

The following Saturday, they will play William Jewell starting at 1 p.m. At this game, the “homecoming royalty” will be crowned.

The Panthers and Lady Panthers have each had an amazing season thus far, with the men’s team standing at 15-1, and the women’s team currently undefeated. You will not want to miss these games!

Homecoming royalty 

Last year, SUB changed the homecoming king and queen titles to a homecoming court and royalty. This change meant that more students could be involved in the process and were not confined to a role based upon gender. Therefore, if a student wins the election, they can choose whatever title they want.

“I really like the idea of doing ‘homecoming royalty’ instead of just the typical king and queen,” said Verna Tawfik, vice president of activities of Fun on the Lane and Homecoming. “And since we are a liberal arts school, it’s very accepting that way.” 

Sophomore Haley Mueller stated, “I love that Drury has become inclusive to all sorts of genders and identities.”

Jessi Cook, one of the candidates on this year’s homecoming court, stated, “I think it’s better just because not every human fits into a binary, and it shouldn’t be other people’s job to force them into society’s gender binary. I think it shows how open Drury is as a community.” 

This year’s homecoming is going to be different; SUB is putting a twist on the normal, annual events. The week will include themed spirit days and activities on both Friday and Saturday. 

Spirit week dress-up days 

Each day of homecoming week has a special theme for students to dress up and show their school spirit.

Monday is pajama day, so you can press snooze one extra time. Tuesday is twin day, so dress up like your best friend (or favorite professor). Wednesday is pink day. Thursday is jersey day, the perfect day to represent your favorite team (which we all know is the Drury Panthers!) Finally, students can end the week with Friday Drury day – just in case you forgot to wear your Drury gear on Thursday. 

Bowling and free Drury gear

The Friday night (March 1) event is bowling: “For homecoming this year, we decided to do bowling at Sunshine Lanes,” said Tawfik. “You’ll be able to bowl as much as you want.” 

The bowling will take place from 9:30 p.m. until 11:30 p.m.

SUB is known for always giving out free Drury gear. For those who come out on Friday night to Sunshine Lanes, SUB will be giving away Drury baseball caps.

A performance by “America’s Got Talent” stars, the Zuzu African Acrobats

The weekend’s events are more than just bowling: the Zuzu African Acrobats, who made it to the semi-finals on “America’s Got Talent” season six, are coming to campus. The group performs traditional Kenyan acrobatics.

The Zuzu African Acrobats will perform on Saturday, March 2, at 9 p.m. in Clara Thompson Hall. The show will last around one hour.

Students are invited to get involved in the performance! The troupe encourages conga lines, skipping, acrobatics, limbo and, of course, laughter.  

“The performance and bowling will round out the activities since we wanted to keep everything simple and fun,” Tawfik stated.

Most years, homecoming includes a show done by a comedian. Students are unsure of what to think of this change to a more unique act.

“I’ve never seen African Zuzu dancers, so I’m not sure if I’ll like them, but I’m open minded about it,” said Mueller. “I think a musical act would’ve been really fun, especially if we had one that a majority of the campus knew.” 

But Tawfik believes extraordinary events like this are what set Drury apart. 

“Homecoming at Drury is special because it’s very different than a typical homecoming,” she stated. “We don’t have typical things, and we incorporate a different culture into homecoming, which is the aim by getting ZuZu African Acrobats to perform.” 

In classic SUB fashion, students who attend can also expect a sweatshirt giveaway for those who stay for the total duration of the show.  

A week – not just a night – of homecoming

For all of next week, Drury University will be bursting with excitement thanks to the hard work and determination of the Panther basketball teams and the activities planned by SUB.

Get ready for some awesome basketball games, dress-up spirit days, free bowling, an amazing acrobatic performance and, of course, giveaways. Do not forget to watch for the announcement of who will be nominated to the 2019 homecoming court!

Written by Delilah Gadd and Ryan Smith.