Homecoming kicks off with pep rally, paint party

ETSU Homecoming began with a bang on Monday thanks to Buctainment and the SGA. 

This year’s homecoming week theme was “X Marks The Spot,” and the first step in that direction was the opening pep rally and GlowRage Paint U DJ paint party. The event was organized through a joint effort of the Student Government Association and Buctainment, and involved events all over campus.

Students packed into the Quad as several fraternities and sororities made themselves known, and the ETSU Marching Band filed in behind. The banners completed that morning hung over the railings of Brooks Gym on both sides of the stage. 

Carnival games were set up across the Quad, and students could throw themselves at a velcro wall, joust with their friends or test their speed in an obstacle course. Bucky even took the challenge, tossing competitors off the jousting platform with a swashbuckler’s finesse. 

The event began with a fight song from the marching band and a routine from ETSU’s cheer team. T-shirts were hurled out to the crowd, and once the music stopped Bucky and members of Buctainment and SGA took the stage. The event was MC’d by Calvin Claggett of Athletics who introduced Homecoming Chair and SGA Secretary of State Roxy Reed who thanked the student body for coming out and outlined the events that were coming up. Claggett then brought up the head coaches of several ETSU teams to rile up the crowd for the upcoming games. 

Claggett went on to introduce the candidates for homecoming king and queen, then handed the night over to the GlowRage DJ. GlowRage specializes in EDM and dance parties and took the night away with pumping bass and paint splashes. Students in the front rows were coated head to toe in neon paint, and it made its way to the back of the Quad as the night went on.