A highlight on the calendars of many alumni, Homecoming is also a time for alumni and friends of the College to converge on the campus for a weekend of lectures, concerts (Choral Society, Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra), athletic events and reminiscence of life at the College. Everything, except perhaps a frustrating loss to Wesleyan in the men's soccer game, seemed to fall into place for Homecoming 2007.
"Whenever I drive down Route 9 from Northampton, I get a smile on my face," explained Dan Lyons '69, as the memories from the best four years of his life always start coming back to him on the approach to Amherst. "It feels like [college] was yesterday." Alumni come back to the College for Homecoming to remember their four years here and to reconnect both with classmates and with the college they love.
Richard Kaplan '54, for example, typifies the alumni who comes back for Homecoming. He returns to Amherst because he "love[s] to be in contact with the school and with the area." Kaplan added, "As long as we're still alive to see each other they're all pleasant."
"I loved the place when I went here, loved every moment," said Herb Tulchin '55 who has returned to "The Fairest College" for the past six or seven years for Homecoming. While many alumni noted that the College has changed in terms of racial and socioeconomic diversity of the student body-"It's a much more interesting group," said Bob Abrams '54-they believe it has maintained the same values of blending a rigorous liberal arts education with athletics, the arts and community life. "You get a wonderful humanist education," remarked Tulchin.
Several alumni said that they were amazed by the new James and Stearns dormitories and the renovated Charles Pratt, which reopened this year as a dorm after previously serving as the College's geology building and gym. David Blackburn '52, who served the College as director for alumni affairs in the 80s, mentioned that he found the College in good hands under President Tony Marx's stewardship. He called his lecture "very impressive" and added that Marx is "more impressive every time I see him."
Homecoming serves as a "mini-reunion," as Calvin Ward '70 called it, for alumni of all classes to meet. While at the spring reunions only classes every five years apart get to see each other, at Homecoming, alumni interact with members of the neighboring classes from their college days, particularly at the football game tailgating parties. Ward pointed out, "There are fewer people in the stands than around the track" because everyone is so busy socializing. "There's a group of people that I like to see year after year… I enjoy their company," said Tulchin. "I look forward to seeing them."
The football game (always against Little Three rivals Wesleyan or Williams in alternating years) is still the focal point of the weekend. The perceived shift in emphasis from spectating towards socializing may also be a function of the lopsided game of the field and the fact that Williams was not this year's opponent.
Meredith McNitt '06, a former chair of Social Council, said that Homecomings against Wesleyan, such as this year's, do not share the "hoopla" of those against archrival Williams. Nevertheless, she believes the social aspect and community-building qualities of the intergenerational tailgates are just as important, if not more important, than the football game itself. "Amherst strives for a community feel to create an environment where all feel like they belong," she said. "Even though I don't know three-fourths of the current student population, I can still come back from Chicago and feel like I belong."
McNitt called the day "hilarious." It was "funny," she said, "because no one has changed that much [and] even though people have carried on their lives, everyone seems to act the same way they did when they were still at school. It's nice to know that even though we've graduated, we didn't change much." McNitt called this year's Homecoming a "great day."
Homecoming is meant to bring together the greater Amherst community and to remind alumni of their days at the College. This year, the weather cooperated, the events were successful and all alumni interviewed signaled that they thoroughly enjoyed their time back. Upon returning to Amherst for Homecoming, explained Tulchin, "I remember what paradise was like." He is not alone.