Members of Greek and Kansas State organizations alike came together for a little dose of healthy competition last week. Homecoming week has come to a close once again and the competition was tight.
Through many rounds and different stages of homecoming, organizations were given points in a number of different categories that they competed in. Although each event is awarded a winner, only one came out on top overall. Kappa Delta, Sigma Tau Gamma, and Phi Delta Theta took the crown on Friday night as it was announced in front of the entire Greek community. They were well deserving and placed in almost every category.
If you didn’t already know from the massive social media presence, the theme for this year’s homecoming was Little Apple, Big Entertainment and each pairing was given an artist to represent. It’s no wonder that when Kappa Delta was given Drake, they already had the upper hand.
With Drake’s recent album and huge popularity among students, it was easy for Kappa Delta to get behind their theme. Paige Garrity, Kappa Delta’s homecoming chair, said that she had been working since April to get their ducks in a row.
One of the most popular parts of homecoming is Wildcat Request Live. Rather than the Pant the Chant vibes, which is basically K-State’s own version of Stomp the Yard, the pairings choreograph a dance to a mash-up of their artist’s music. The winner of WRL, also Kappa Delta, Phi Delt, and Sig Tau, did a hip-hop dance to a remix of popular Drake songs. Everyone goes crazy during WRL because of the pure talent and fun atmosphere. Kappa Delta came out with a bang to a mix of In My Feelings, God’s Plan, and other classic Drake hits.
Even though homecoming is a week of competition that can sometimes get a bit heated it is actually a positive way to bring the community together. Healthy competition is the best way to bring people together. Although everyone wants to win, everyone has fun and participation is at an all-time high.
Kappa Delta showed they were winners in more aspects than just how many points they got. The class they showed throughout was incomparable. With no hard feelings, unnecessary bragging, or cockiness they took the crown with grace and ease. They humbly went to social media and gave all the glory to their dedicated members and passionate homecoming chair. Kappa Delta set themselves above the competition far before it started and only further proved themselves through each event.
Grace Worcester, a homecoming chair for a chapter that did not take the crown, said, “Homecoming is an amazing week. It’s full of energy, fun, competition, talent, and so much more. It was awesome to be able to have the behind the scenes look at everything that goes into play. Although we had some difficulties throughout, we still pulled through and performed and decorated and pomped our hearts out. It’s very uplifting to see everyone coming together as one to support K-State and their own Greek organizations.”
Kappa Delta’s homecoming chair, Paige Garrity, thinks they won because of several reasons. “We all put in so much time and it really showed! For example, our WRL had practice for 2 hours three times a week and I [personally] attended almost every practice cleaning it.”
With the dedication and participation that Kappa Delta focused on, it really led them to the top. Garrity said she “definitely felt the stress of having so many people rely on me solely to make decisions, but the experience was such a blast.” Right after they announced who got second place, Garrity said she immediately thought “could we have actually won first” and once she found out they won she was thrilled and knew all her hard work had paid off.
The healthy competition aspect of homecoming is very community building within the Greek community. Garrity agreed that it’s definitely good and “is a great opportunity for us to meet other Greeks and form new friendships all while giving us some fun competition.”
The week was fun-filled and full of good, clean competition. But of course, only one person comes out on top and Kappa Delta proved themselves throughout the week. The Greek community came together, and the week had a perfect ending with the K-State Wildcats beating OSU 31 to 12.
