An underdog win from the coalition comprised of Whitley, Waterman, and Galloway ended Simpson Residence’s eight-year homecoming winning streak.
After leading the homecoming competition for most of the week, Whit Wat Way delivered an imaginative Mock Rock performance, featuring massive cardboard cutouts and a surprise Avengers theme, to cement its lead and close out the competition. The Off-Campus Coalition earned second place and Simpson ranked third.
To Whit Wat Way, the victory felt like a win for the entire campus. Galloway Resident Assistant and senior Ethan Visser said Simpson has developed a somewhat arrogant and try-hard attitude in how it has approached the homecoming competition over the past eight years. Whit Wat Way, he said, represented more than just the residences directly involved in the coalition.
“It felt so good to beat Simpson,” Visser said. “I love winning something that means more to them than it does to me.”
“At the end of the day, all good things have to end,” said Simpson Head RA and senior Reagan Dugan.
Dugan also said he loved being in the position where everyone wanted to beat their dorm.
“It’s been somewhat positive on campus in that you need a bad guy,” Dugan said. “People get frustrated with us and so be it, but I think in general everyone likes getting mad at Simpson. So, if we bring the campus together in getting mad at Simpson, I guess that’s a good thing. I had a blast, and I hope everyone else had fun.”
Though they didn’t win, Simpson Head RA and senior Adam Buchmann said he thought homecoming week accomplished another goal Simpson had: to build dorm culture and get freshmen engaged in campus events.
“We have a saying that we use,” Buchmann said. “It’s not about the product, it’s about the process. Winning homecoming isn’t necessarily the goal of what we’re doing. We’re trying to develop a community.”
Simpson placed second in Mock Rock with a performance that did exactly what Dugan said they wanted to do: overload the senses. At 65 cast members, the production was almost double its normal size.
The Simpson performance also featured the return of former Head RA Josh Bailey ‘19 for a portion of the dance — a decision Dugan said they made only two days before the competition.
With the return of Galloway to campus, Simpson also had far fewer freshmen in the dorm this year. While this made it harder to coordinate dorm participation, Dugan said it also meant there were more upperclassmen who can have a better perspective about the loss.
Buchmann said he would have loved to win but added, “We’re really proud of what we did and we’re happy for the other teams as well. Congratulations to Whit Wat Way.”