SOUTHEASTERN CELEBRATES HOMECOMING NOVEMBER 7-12
       HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University is inviting the campus and community to “Tune In To Southeastern” Nov. 7-12 for the spirited week of Homecoming activities capped by a parade in downtown Hammond and football action in Strawberry Stadium. 
       The Homecoming Week schedule includes a number of time-honored favorites from the Gumbo Ya Ya fest for students to a variety of contests to the annual bonfire. But it will also boast several new twists, including unveiling a new university tradition and reviving an old one, and merging Homecoming and Hammond Veteran’s Day festivities on Homecoming Day, Nov. 12.
       At halftime of the Southeastern vs. Nicholls State football game at 6 p.m. Saturday in Strawberry Stadium, students and alumni will get their first look at the design for the new official university ring. At the end of the game, the score will determine whether the Lions or the Colonels go home with the “Riverbell” trophy. The annual Southeastern-Nicholls gridiron match-up was billed as the “Riverbell Classic” before Lions football went on an 18-year hiatus in 1985. Nicholls claimed the trophy last, but Southeastern hopes to reclaim it with a Homecoming game win.
       Veteran’s Day activities will join Homecoming activities on campus on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. The veterans will set up booths, entertainment and food on the southeast corner of Friendship Circle. The Veteran’s Day and Homecoming parade will also travel back-to-back from First Guaranty Bank on East Thomas St. through Friendship Circle to the University Center, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
       Southeastern Homecoming Week will begin with the Southeastern Family Reunion, at 6 p.m., Monday, Nov. 7, in the Student Union Park. A new Homecoming tradition sponsored by Southeastern African American sororities and fraternities, the event will feature food, entertainment and family activities such as face painting for kids.
       Tuesday, Nov. 8, will include the zany “Fear Factor” games at 8 p.m. in the Student Union park. On Wednesday, Nov. 9, students will enjoy food, fun and a mini-pep rally at Gumbo Ya Ya beginning at 11 a.m., and faculty and student teams will flex their intellectual muscles in Phi Kappa Phi’s Homecoming Quiz Bowl from 2-5 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre. 
       On Thursday, Nov. 10, Gamma Beta Phi will hold its annual “A Ton of Fun Food Drive” in the Student Union mall, and two luncheons are scheduled on campus and in downtown Hammond. 
       The FE-Lions’ noon Homecoming luncheon at Topé La Catering will welcome football head coach Dennis Roland as guest speaker, while Lyceum Lights, scheduled for Twelve Oaks, will feature two winners of the 2005 President’s Award for Excellence -- Lucia Harrison, head of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, and William Bond, professor of biology, who won the prestigious awards for teaching and faculty service, respectively. 
       Homecoming spirit will heat up – literally – Thursday evening when the Homecoming bonfire is torched at 7 p.m., next to the Alumni Center on University Ave. The evening will also feature a pep rally and street dance. The announcement of the winners of the faculty/staff Homecoming cook off, “Chips, Dips and All That Jazz,” will be precede the bonfire at 5 p.m. at the Alumni Center. 
       Homecoming highlights on Friday, Nov. 11 include free fitness workouts at the Pennington Student Activity Center, campus tours and a golf tournament teeing-off at noon at Carter Plantation.
       The action begins early on Homecoming, Saturday, Nov. 12, and fun and spirit will fill Friendship Circle for most of the day. Alumni and visitors can again enjoy more free workouts and tours, tailgate in Friendship Circle, and enjoy bands at the Pottle Performance Circle. They can also browse booths with faculty publications and artwork, and join in the Alumni Association and Greek organizations’ tailgating, which will be in full swing from 3-5 p.m. The colleges of Education and Human Development and Science and Technology also plan campus tailgate parties beginning at 2 p.m.
       Meanwhile, children can have fun with a variety of activities, crafts, and games, including a spacewalk, obstacle course, “dry” slide, face painting, pottery-making with Southeastern art majors, and miniature train rides.
       A reception and dedication ceremony for Southeastern donors who have endowed scholarships and professorships will be held at 1 p.m. in Sims Memorial Library. 
       Pre-game activities in Strawberry Stadium include performances by the Spirit of the Southland marching band, Lionettes and cheerleaders and the recognition of Lions football seniors. Members of the 2005 Homecoming queen and beau courts will be recognized and the queen and king will be announced and crowned at halftime.
       For more information about Homecoming 2005, call the Alumni Center, 1-800-SLU-ALUM or visit the Homecoming link at www.selu.edu/alumni.