\Lights, Camera, Homecoming!"" Alright, the theme for last weekend's Homecoming celebration made about as much sense as the Big Ten hiring two insane asylum escapees to ref the Purdue game.
The triviality of this year's particular theme aside, Homecoming is an important week for the university, melding the current state of UW-Madison with the rich history and storied tradition of decades gone by.
I'm sure many students carry the assumption that the week has nothing to do with anyone but former graduates and the overachieving grade-grubbers that wind up on Homecoming court. Such a presumption couldn't be more wrong.
Homecoming is primarily about alumni-they come back to Madison, visit their favorite bars, check out former stomping grounds and meet up with some old friends. Yet, within this convention of former students returning to their past, lies immense opportunity for current students forging their futures.
I came to this understanding on Friday and Saturday night, when I had the fortune of conversing with many alumni from as far back as the mid-'50s to recent graduates. I had an incredible time listening to college tales of days gone by, enjoying the enthusiasm and passion of the storytellers just as much as the stories themselves.
Yet just as importantly as hearing fascinating stories about all the great things people have done here, for me, Homecoming was a giant wake-up call.
I had an identity crisis. Not so much for myself, but for all students currently enrolled at UW-Madison.
The '50s were the ""Golden Age"" of the university: a time when college was a relatively new idea to many families, when the rules were loose and the standards-from academics to revelry-had yet to be defined. The '60s and '70s were a period of great institutional transformation in American society, which was reflected on campus.
The '80s were the product of this change, when the former traditions coalesced with the increased significance of materialism and individuality. The '90s brought the termination of the past, and the ambiguity we still face today.
I ponder: What defines us as a college generation? What will we remember when we come back for Homecoming 25 years from now?
This weekend, I discovered that UW-Madison has been an amazing place ever since it was created. I also came to the realization that we, the students of today, must start blazing our own legacies.
Turn off the reality television. Put down the video game controllers. Go to class and study during the week. On the weekends, get together with your friends, crank up your favorite tunes, drink your favorite drinks and party like mad -even if the only thing you're celebrating is being alive.
We take many things too seriously, and get offended by everything else. It's time we took some risks and tried some things we've always wanted but never had the guts to do. Go on a panty raid. Ask your crush out on a date. Tell your professor they're full of it.
No matter if you're Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, gay or straight, Greek or not, if we make a spirited effort, we can become the next legends, and the classes of the future will look to us for inspiration.
I'm tired of letting indifference and blind contentment control our generation. Aren't you?
writePNL@yahoo.com.
