Fans packed into the Kenneth P. LaValle stadium Saturday afternoon to watch the Seawolves take on the Charleston Southern Panthers. School spirit radiated from the crowd of 5,544 fans, which could be seen wearing red face paint and school colors while punching the air cheering for the home team.
The level of enthusiasm generated from the crowd validated the notion that the game is not the only reason spectators participate in homecoming.
“It’s a great way to show your support for the school and the team,” said S. Christopher Frontario, a junior who was attending his third homecoming. “It’s also fun to wear paint and watch the game from the Red Zone.” The Red Zone is the area behind the field goal, where many students cheer while displaying painted letters on their skin spelling out cheers.
Senior Jennifer Traditi agreed, who attended homecoming all four years. “Homecoming is a great way to bring the students and the community together,” she said.
Before the first kick-off fans were able to cheer on their team at a pre-homecoming event just outside the stadium. Attendants were able to chomp down on food, collect free stuff, and watch a performance by the Stony Brook marching band. There was a cover charge for the event.
In a separate area, a tent was constructed to welcome back all alumni. Graduates flocked to the game not only to root for their team, but to hang out with many friends who they hadn’t seen in a while.
“It’s great to reconnect with friends and show my support for the university,” said Bedel Saget, a 1988 graduate of Stony Brook, who now works as a graphics editor at The New York Times. Although he never attended homecoming while he was a student, Saget says he’s fond of the time he spent at Stony Brook and the friends he made while he was here.
Victoria Fleurant, a 1995 graduate of Stony Brook, also enjoys reconnecting with old friends. “It’s great to come back here and show my support for the university. I’m very proud of how much it has grown over the years,” she said. Fleurant is now a facilities coordinator in New York City and says that her fondest memories of Stony Brook were the friends she made and the great times she had with them.
Many of the alumni are involved with the Alumni Board, which coordinates pre-homecoming events, receives donations from alumni and also hold events other than homecoming.
Joanne Campbell Schiefer, a 1979 graduate and current a financial advisor at UBS in Uniondale. Schiefer never attended homecoming until a couple of years ago, when she met a friend of her son’s father who also graduated from Stony Brook. This got Schiefer involved in homecoming and in turn, eventually led to her nomination for the board.
She has co-chaired the pre-homecoming event for several years and enjoys meeting other Stony Brook alumni.
“I am so proud of my education from Stony Brook,” she said. “It has risen up in value in the past couple of years and I think we owe a lot of that to President Kenny.”
