On Friday, November 3rd, and Saturday, November 4th, WPI has many events scheduled to celebrate Homecoming 2000. Most of these events are open to students. The schedule at this point is tentative, according to Donna Savelli, the Assistant Director of Alumni Affairs.
On Friday evening, five WPI alumni will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame. These alumni are Joseph J. Alekshun, Jr. '56, Kimberly F. Boucher '86, Frederick D. Rucker '81, Fred N. Snyder '70, and Jason A. Wooley '94. Also at 7 pm on Friday a Pep Rally will be held to give students the opportunity to cheer on WPI's fall varsity sports teams.
At 9 am on Saturday the Frank Sannella Road Race will be held. Faculty, students, staff, and alumni are encouraged to participate. With a valid student ID the five-dollar registration fee will be waived. At 9:30 am the varsity crew team will compete against Wesleyan at Lake Quinsigamond. After the race, the varsity crew team will take on the Alumni. Later in the day, two new crew shells will be dedicated, followed by a cookout on the lake. Starting at 10 am, there will be a Carnival on the Quad. There will be food concessions as well as games and entertainment. At noon, the Homecoming Parade will begin. The floats will travel from the Library parking lot, down Institute Road, and then around the Quad.
Kickoff will be at 1 o'clock for the Homecoming football game as WPI takes on the Coast Guard. Go to Alumni Field and see if WPI can beat Coast Guard for the third straight year. Admission to the football game is free with a valid student ID. If you are not a student, just bring a non-perishable food item to help the annual Lambda Chi Alpha food drive and get into the game for free. Last year Lambda Chi collected over 60,000 pounds of food.
One of the traditions of Homecoming will be held immediately after the football game. At Institute Park, the freshmen and sophomores will compete in the Rope Pull, the first rivalry event. The first rope pull was held over Institute Pond in 1909. The losers no longer go in the pond, but they do get wet, compliments of a fire hose. Everyone, especially freshmen and sophomores should come and see who wins.
At 7:30 pm, the WPI Concert Band and WPI Jazz Band will present its annual Pops Concert. Tickets for students will cost three dollars. The Jazz Band will be performing big band jazz music and the Concert Band will be performing a variety of music.