I went to a large public school in a Midwest suburb, where attendance at Friday night football games was practically mandatory think wannabe Friday Night Lights. Half of my friends from home now attend a Big Ten university and view their teams' rivalries as personal vendettas. The community we all grew up in was close-knit and spirited, so things like homecoming never went unnoticed.
There was football, yes. But to be honest, our team was painfully awful the Polar Bears were literally 0-10 my junior year. It was more the pomp and circumstance that came before that was important a week of spirit activities, pep rallies and contests all concluding with a very overrated dance in the gym. My attendance was poor I almost graduated without ever going, but I was in the minority. Year after year, I would watch my classmates drop $400 on ostentatious dresses covered in sequins and ruffles that would never be worn again. Hundreds of new photo albums with titles like "and so we danced ;)" and "GETTING IT DONE ONE LAST TIME SENIYYYAHS 11" would explode on Facebook come Sunday morning.
To compare my high school's homecoming to the College's beloved version, I think it is safe to say that the latter obviously wins. But while we as Dartmouth students might all agree on the fact that our big weekend beats any high school attempt, the discrepancies between our experiences pre-college are surprisingly wide.
Coming from a small town in Alaska with a population of 300, Chelsea Suydam '14 had never experienced homecoming before coming to Dartmouth. At a K-12 school with 60 students total, it was hard to develop expectations about the weekend.
"I'd always heard about the bonfire and things like that," she said. "I thought it sounded exciting with all of the alumni coming back, but I did think it would be more centered around football."
Stefan Deutsch '14 had more of a traditional high school homecoming that included a spirit week, formal dance and parade with class floats that all culminated in the football game. Having experienced this type of school spirit, he knew what to expect when he came to Dartmouth.
"Dartmouth Homecoming is that kind of spirit, but on steroids," he said. "The game might be less well-attended, but the bonfire and stuff like that are things that you can't find anywhere else."
For Noah Smith '15, the excitement associated with Dartmouth's Homecoming weekend was completely new based on his high school experience at an all-boys school.
"We had homecoming, but it was so not a big deal because we didn't have girls," he said. "If you weren't into football, it wasn't important. Homecoming at Dartmouth and the bonfire made me feel a part of a tradition. In high school, it was a joke I didn't even know what day it was."
Courtney Wong '15 felt similarly disconnected from her school's attempts at a homecoming celebration.
"We had a carnival with rides and stuff," she said. "My school just didn't have school spirit for pep rallies, I would just leave early."
Wong's experience at Dartmouth stands in sharp contrast to this lack of unity.
"I think that in general, Dartmouth is a lot about school spirit and that is why people come here for the traditional campus feel," she said. "I liked Homecoming last year because a lot of alums come back to be supportive."
As Tyler Ray '14 pointed out, the fact that so many Dartmouth graduates return for big weekends is probably based on their positive memories of the experience.
"I might not have big memories of my high school homecomings at all, but I'm sure I'll remember Dartmouth ones a few years from now," he said.
For '16s, this weekend has been built up all term. Some, like Angad Kapur '16, have no idea what to expect. As an international student from Mumbai, his only expectations have come from the hype.
"We didn't have the concept of homecoming where I'm from," he said. "But everyone has said it is supposed to be insane and the best big weekend. I'm excited for it."
But Deutsch made a particularly valid point while freshmen might have heard a lot about the sense of tradition and excitement associated with the big weekend, understanding it is entirely different.
"It is hard to imagine it before it happens," he said. "The adrenaline rush of the freshman sweep, how hot the bonfire is, all of that you just have to experience it."