Organizations decorate golf carts for Homecoming

Student organization members decorated golf carts in the University Forum on Oct. 21, and Oct. 22, to represent their student organizations in a Homecoming golf cart parade.

The golf cart decorating contest and parade, sponsored by the unifying events committee, guaranteed golf carts to the first 20 students organizations who registered to participate, according to the general contest rules. The golf carts were showcased on Saturday in a parade at 2:30 p.m. around the tailgating lots near the football stadium, in the first quarter line up and in the halftime ceremony.

Senior Kayleigh Hall, organizer of the golf cart decorating contest and parade and member of the unifying events committee, said the decorating contest began last year and was continued as a program to engage all of the campus community.

"We try to have big campus events that everyone can come to," Hall said. Other unifying activities include UR Thankful, the fall festival that is taking the place of TOTS, and spring weekend, which includes Pig Roast, she said.

Each entrant competed to carry members of the Homecoming court in its cart onto the field during halftime, Hall said. Since not as many organizations participated as anticipated, all organizations that decorated a cart would be able to carry a member of the court, she said.

"The idea was if you sponsored somebody for nominating," Hall said, "[the nominee] was going to reach out to that group and have them decorate a golf cart, which a lot of people have done.

"If we had had 20 student organizations do it, [the committee] would have chosen a top eight to take the court in."

Mimi Mudd, the sophomore class president, said the Westhampton College Government Association golf cart was decorated to reflect daisy love and Spider spirit. The cart featured a daisy chain, the insignia of Westhampton College, draped around the cart.

Matt Jones, a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, said his organization decorated its cart in support of homecoming king candidate Matt Sobel and incorporated the fraternity's colors, blue and old gold into the cart's theme.

"We're just trying to make it as eccentric as possible," Jones said. "We want people to know that the party starts here."

Other groups that decorated golf carts included Kappa Alpha Theta, Richmond College Student Government Association and Quidditch.

Contact staff writer Sarah Bowers at sarah.bowers@richmond.edu.