In the spirit of ever-evolving tradition, the College will host approximately 5,000 people with a combination of current students, alumni and friends of the College during Homecoming weekend, combining annual festivities with opportunities for alumni from throughout the years to reconnect, according to Diana Lawrence, director of communications for Alumni Relations. This year's Homecoming will also feature a new smartphone application to enhance the experience, Lawrence said.
In order to keep both current students and alumni updated on the latest Homecoming happenings, the Office of Alumni Relations will release a mobile Homecoming application for Androids and iPhones, Lawrence said. The application will allow users to download the schedule of Homecoming events, view campus maps, upload pictures from Homecoming to Flickr, read local restaurant reviews and access the alumni database to communicate with former classmates, according to Lawrence.
"This app, which we developed in response to alumni requests, is our first foray into mobile communications," Lawrence said. "We're hoping to receive a lot of feedback and suggestions for how to make it even more fun and useful going forward."
Many events have been scheduled during Homecoming specifically for alumni and their families, although current students are welcome to attend, Lawrence said. Highlights include an admissions workshop for alumni and their children, various lectures by professors and coaches, steam tunnel tours, hospitality tents and campus tours that include stops at the newly renovated Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center and Class of 1953 Commons.
The annual Homecoming parade is another popular tradition for returning alumni, according to Lawrence.
"Classes returning to campus can represent their class by marching in the Homecoming parade," Lawrence said. "All classes are welcome, including current Dartmouth classes."
In addition, 15 alumni classes have formalized plans to hold mini-reunions in Hanover during Homecoming weekend, Lawrence said. The mini-reunions will reflect "the love and commitment alumni still feel for the Dartmouth community," according to Daniel Muchinsky '63, one of two vice presidents of the Class of 1963 and mini-reunion chairman.
"We regard Homecoming as a big party during which we see old friends," Muchinsky said. "By now, of course, all of us know each other rather well. It is always nice to see someone at Homecoming who has not attended events before."
In addition to planned Homecoming events, these mini-reunions allow former Dartmouth classes to celebrate their own traditions, ranging from annual dinners to rounds of golf at Hanover Country Club, Muchinsky said.
"Our Homecoming mini-reunions have followed the same pattern for the last five or six years," Muchinsky said. "We have a dinner at the Canoe Club on Friday night prior to the parade and bonfire. On Saturday morning, our executive committee meets in the Treasure Room in Baker. We discuss class business at this time. Our class president presides. After the meeting, we attend the football game."
In the weeks leading up to Homecoming, the Office of Alumni Relations works with alumni associations and the Town of Hanover to make all necessary arrangements for the anticipated visitors, Lawrence said. The Office of Alumni Relations contributes to the planning of local class reunions by reserving facilities on campus for class functions and provides audiovisual equipment when needed, she said. Classes are responsible for coordinating meals with their designated caterers, according to Lawrence.
Mini-reunions the planning of which from class to class may also have a less formal schedule, according to Laura Gasser '87, mini-reunion chairperson for her class. Last Homecoming, the Class of 1987 shared a mini-reunion dinner with several other classes at the Hanover Inn, Gasser said. This year, alumni of the Class of 1987 will march in the parade and attend small family gatherings following the festivities, she said.
The Office of Alumni Relations will also hold the "Year Zero" reunion for the Class of 2011 hosted primarily for Dartmouth's graduating Class of 2011 and open to alumni from the Class of 1996 and later following the Homecoming football game on Saturday, Lawrence said.
