As Hillsdale alumni who returned for this year’s homecoming festivities, we are the people who “homecoming is about,” according to the Oct. 10 Collegian Weekly from the  editorial staff. We believe that the editorial piece mistakes the true purpose of homecoming.

While no one would argue that it is criminal to congratulate other groups, the adversarial nature of the homecoming competition actually improves Hillsdale’s campus culture. T.S. Eliot once wrote, “It is important that a man should feel himself to be, not merely a citizen of a particular nation, but a citizen of a particular part of his country, with local loyalties.” Human beings’ affection for their closest communities is the first link in the series by which they proceed towards a love of mankind. Students’ love for their own little platoon on campus, whether that be a dormitory or a Greek house, is exactly what strengthens their affection towards the larger community of the college. This love is most animated during homecoming because of the competition, not despite it. If we want students to grow in harmony with their peers and friends, we should encourage the competitive spirit of homecoming, not admonish it.

Additionally, part of the point of the homecoming contest is the “extreme” that The Collegian cautions against. Resolving to expend a ridiculous amount of effort for something seemingly meaningless exhibits a rare, exceptional virtue: a childlike earnestness to commit to something bigger than yourself and to know the great enthusiasms and great devotions of life. Additionally, some of the most exciting aspects that today’s students enjoy, such as the thrilling Banner Drop night and electric Mock Rock routines, would not exist if not for homecoming having consumed the lives of past students to this “extreme.” We suspect that no one would argue that campus would somehow be better off without these things.

            Perhaps the most objectionable claim about homecoming made by the Collegian staff in the Weekly is that “in a week, the results won’t matter.” Homecoming week enlivens campus with an enthusiasm that often lasts beyond homecoming week, strengthens community within the student body, builds new friendships, further cultivates pre-existing ones, leaves lasting memories that bind alumni and current students through shared experiences, and is integral to campus culture. In a week, in a year, and in a decade, the results will matter.

            As Captain Jack Sparrow once observed, “not all treasure is silver and gold, mate.” He may be right, but the pursuit of that gold homecoming trophy does plenty to cultivate the friendships we treasure.

 

Caleb Lambrecht ’21, Isaac Wilhelm ’23, and Justin Peterson ’24 are Hillsdale College alumni.