Simpson chants before a football game in 2024: Courtesy | Student Activities Board

From banner drop to football weekends, Simpson residents are the most colorful in the crowd — literally.  

Simpson’s colorful costumes and crazy antics during games has led Hillsdale PA announcer Warren Miller to dub them, “the most interesting student section in Division II.”

The tradition of Simpsonites dressing up in costumes for campus sporting events and competitions goes back at least a decade, according to seniors and Simpson head resident assistants Nathan Rastovac and Jonathan Williams.

“The oldest picture of guys in costume I saw was from 2015,” Rastovac said. “You can still see some of the costumes out there being worn. It’s crazy how the tradition’s lasted so long.”

Rastovac said the Simpson RAs send emails to the incoming freshmen, encouraging them to bring a costume to campus.

“A lot of guys have their own costumes,” Rastovac said. “They’re a handful that have been passed down for years and years, but most of the costumes are just from guys going to the thrift stores, or Spirit Halloween, or just asking their grandparents for old costumes they might have.”

Williams said he had fun selecting costumes during his freshman year, which included a watermelon onesie.

“I remember pretty early on going to Walmart with my buddies and trying to find the craziest onesies that we could,” Williams said. “It’s been fun to keep some of those and keep wearing the costumes as a senior that I was wearing as a freshman.”

Williams’ watermelon onesie has since become a staple in the student section at Charger sporting events.

“It’s always funny because a bunch of times, people listening to the radio would hear the announcer look at the student section and reference the fact that there is a watermelon in the stands,” Williams said.

When residents leave Simpson, Williams said, they pass their costumes down to younger students.

“When the guys leave the dorm or they graduate, a lot of the things they wear they give down to somebody who was sort of like a little brother or a younger figure,” Williams said. “It’s really neat that within the silliness, there’s something that’s really meaningful.”

Senior Marc Ayers, who lived in Simpson for three years and often wore a horse head hat to games, said he enjoyed the tradition of attending games with the student section.

“Simpson’s been wearing funny clothes to games for a long time,” Ayers said. “We kind of take it upon ourselves to dress up funny, to bring energy to those games, and really try to enliven the student section as much as we can.”

Ayers said the costumes bring special life to the student section.

“There’s a certain absurdity that adds to the energy that I think is a whole lot of fun,” Ayers said. “There’s really nothing quite like it. It’s so ridiculous, but it’s so energizing at the same time.”

Rastovac said the student section has a good time heckling the opposing teams.

“We say silly things,” Rastovac said. “We’re yelling randomly, just to get in their heads. Just so they’re like, ‘what are these guys yelling about? It’s not volleyball related.’ No, it’s not volleyball related. It’s totally random, but you’re thinking about us now and not the game.”

Williams said football gives the student section prime placement for heckling. 

“We’re placed right behind the opposing sideline, so everything we say has to be heard by the opposing team and the opposing coaches, which is really fun,” Williams said. “You can tell that they really get peeved hearing it nonstop. Sometimes the players and coaches will even respond and talk to us, and that’s good when you realize that their focus isn’t on the game. It’s like we’ve become this 12th man type figure that disrupts the strategy of the opposing team.”

Williams said he distracts the opposing team during free throw attempts in basketball by leading the student section in singing the “Veggie Tales” theme song or reciting the Hillsdale honor code at the top of their voices.

“That’s really fun and when they miss, we kind of credit the miss to us,” Williams said.

Williams said he hopes to see other dorms participate with Simpson in the student section this year.

“We would really love for as many people to come be a part of it,” Williams said. “Even though it’s our tradition, the most rewarding thing for us to see is when other people wear silly costumes and heckle, too. The more the better, honestly.”  

Rastovac said cheering with the student section is a way to take a break from the academic rigor of the college.

“We have fun, and we’re focused on having a good time, not taking ourselves too seriously because we’re dressed up as a pizza or a shark,” Rastovac said. “And that’s okay, and that is part of the college experience that we want here at Hillsdale.”