Alumni return to college

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An estimated 2,000 alumni are expected to attend this year’s homecoming.

“Alumni are coming back not only because they remember the school but because they want to see their friends,” said Joyce Curby, coordinator of alumni activities and events. “So we have to give them lots of opportunities to be able to visit and yet still be part of what is going on.”

Various events will allow alumni to relive their glory days, such as tailgating, attending the game against the University of Indianapolis, and participating in the annual Charger tent party.

“Mock rock has been a really special edition for about four or five years now and there is a lot of energy down there,”  said Grigor Hasted, director of business and industry and constituents/alumni relations. “Homecoming is first and foremost about reunions, renewing old friendships, but I also really want [alumni] to see our students of this era.”

Hasted said that alumni have the perception of Hillsdale students as being solely studious from the moment they enter to the moment they leave. It is Hasted’s hope to reassure the returning Chargers that Hillsdale students still have a social life aside from studying Aristotle.

“The social life is still very strong here, and I think that is what a lot of the alumni tend to forget. It is not the same kind of social life as before,” Hasted said. “The drinking age was 18 here in the state, which changed in January of `72. At that point, everyone on campus pretty much was of age. There were keggers Fridays and Saturday nights at virtually every fraternity. On campus, we had parties in the old snack bar. It was not an illegal activity.”

Hasted said that fraternities were the center of social life and, after the sudden rise in drinking age, many struggled to find their purpose.

“Delta Tau Delta [has] made a strong comeback,” he said.

The fraternity is hosting a luncheon for Delta Tau Delta alumni in their new home.

“We are expecting more people this year because we have a house now and that’s an exciting thing,” said Thomas Rupp, senior and DTD philanthropy chairman. “It’ll be those men and also the recent alumni who were looking forward to having a house, but [it] never happened. So they are going to come back and see the fruits of their labor.”

Hasted said that the Alumni from the `70s graduating classes tend to be most represented, but alumni do not affiliate themselves with classes, but the teams and organizations to which they belonged.

“Traditionally, alumni had been organized by class, but now there is a stronger affiliation for the teams they played for or for the organizations they were members of,” Halsted said. “We are trying to find ways to capitalize that relationship.”

Among the several organized reunions will be an open orchestra rehearsal on Sept. 27 at 3 p.m., a hockey reunion game on Sept. 27 at 6 p.m., and an alumni soccer game on Sept. 28 at 10 a.m.

Senior Gena Oster, president of the women’s club soccer team, with the help of the alumni office, has invited both men and women to return to join the women’s club soccer team in a fun coed game that is open to the public.

“The whole point of it is to just build community around this sport that we love,” Oster said. “I’m just really excited to meet them, to hear their stories, to learn from their experiences and to hopefully grow and expand the team through their support and building our fan base.”

Tomorrow, six alumni will be awarded at the 62nd Annual Alumni Awards Banquet for their outstanding work.

“We are focused on the future of the school, [and] the future of the school depends on how successful you were in the past,” Curby said.

The alumni relations office and Career Services organized an opportunity for current students to meet with alumni on Sept. 27, from 3-4 p.m. and repeating again at 4-5 p.m. in Lane Hall. Alumni will give presentations on their current careers and advise students what preparations are needed to pursue that particular career.

“It’s one of the areas where alumni can really be supportive,” Hasted said. “My experiences are that alumni are happy to help current students with questions about graduate school or a job. They can’t always offer jobs, but possibly internships. It’s all about networking.”