2018 has been a great year for UMBC. From winning the America East Championship title and making it into March Madness to booking 21 Savage for Quadmania, the campus is buzzing with excitement. One can only imagine what’s in store for the Retrievers this upcoming semester. Well, thanks to a member of Student Events Board (SEB), we have a sneak peek at what students should expect next semester for Homecoming. If you remember last year, for fall homecoming 2017, we had Trevor Noah perform and the turnout was great.
Although it is unconventional to have a comedian perform for Homecoming, Noah was received well by the student body as tickets sold out swiftly. When I spoke with Chad Martin, a sophomore psychology major, about Homecoming for fall semester 2018, he told me SEB was taking things in a very different direction. According to our conversation, it seems that Homecoming next semester will feature one of our very own, President Freeman Hrabowski rather than having an artist or comedian perform. Although it may sound bizarre, SEB feels as though this will be a good change for UMBC. “It will give students an opportunity to really get to know the man behind the inner workings of our great university,” Martin states.
President Hrabowski also expressed his personal sentiments regarding Homecoming 2018 and explained that he was very excited and anxious being that we are expecting a huge turnout that will include students, faculty and many outside guests. It is unclear whether president Hrabowski will be giving a speech or reading a chapter from his most recent book “Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement.”
In this book, Hrabowski discusses his experiences in the civil rights movement and how that inspired his work to promote STEM programs, especially for African American students. SEB felt it was imperative that Hrabowski speak, inspiring the student body to follow in his footsteps and elicit change in the world around them, no matter how big or small that world may be.
We cannot disclose the exact date or venue that this event will be taking place but it is expected to be the second week of October 2018, and the turnout is expected to be tremendous. “The students are certainly in for a treat,” says Hrabowski.
The students of SEB believe this change could spark many other changes to the UMBC campus. “If things go as expected we may never have to book another performer for homecoming again,” Martin states. With this being said, 21 Savage may be the last artist that UMBC will ever have perform on campus. This news brings some students excitement, but some worry that SEB is making a huge mistake.
