New traditions, mixed with old traditions, mixed with a whole lot of Stony Brook swagger, definitely equated to one awesome way to kick off homecoming weekend!

The Wolfstock showcase, which took place Friday night at 7:00 p.m. on the Staller terrace, had almost 30 groups participating and had a very nice turnout. The event was immediately followed by an Undergraduate Student Government, USG,  sponsored concert featuring Long Island cover band, The Gyst.

The parade of past years is not to be belittled. It included the marching band, cheerleaders and residence hall organizations. As reported by past homecoming newsletters, it was a display of student created banners and floats. So what were some of the reasons that administrators decided the homecoming weekend needed to be revamped? According to grad student and assistant to associate director of residential programs, Mary Dimacali, “We wanted to start a new tradition that would garner the most S.B.U. pride and spirit for homecoming. Homecoming should be celebrated!”

In response to why the showcase may be better than the parade, Dimacali attested that the homecoming parade of past years was mainly participated in by those who were members of organizations running it. She continues, “the showcase involves all different types of groups including the homecoming contestants, Greeks, and residence halls, the diversity is sure to catch the maximum amount of attention.”

The administrators didn’t know what to expect when they redirected resources from the parade to the showcase, but the event by far exceeded expectations. They originally expected about twenty groups to sign up, but instead had a huge influx of organizations that wanted to perform. This feat was partially accomplished by using an incentive.

“All groups who participated received a two-hundred dollar grant towards programming,” Dimacali said. “We thought if students are going to support Stony Brook, we need to support our students right back.”

The showcase certainly received its due attention, being hosted by Streeter Seidell of College Humor on MTV. It was by far one of the best pep rallies of the season. The cheerleaders and marching band performed during the opening as people traveled en mass to the grassy steps in front of Staller. You could literally hear the spirit in the air as H-quad marched in carrying banners and chanting “H-quad, H-quad.”

After the marching band did their thing and all the performers were finally accounted for, Streeter took the stage, kicking things off with some raunchy jokes and a “Shitty Tattoo” contest.

After Seidell thoroughly embarrassed a few people, the event kicked off with a performance of Taio Cruz’s “Break Your Heart” by the High Cs, which some students around  described as “Too cute,” and “Really good!”

Almost everyone who performed was greeted by enthusiasm as the famed Stony Brook swagger radiated through the air. By far the crowd favorites, based on applause, were a step routine by the brothers of Malik Fraternity Inc., the Marching Band Drumline, “Sophisticated Ladies” of Sigma Gamma Rho and the amazing Puso. Other groups performing ranged from cultural Belly Dancers,  the student percussion group Teiko Tides and Latin Ballroom Dancers to the beloved marching band and color guard.

Most of the quads were represented, most notably the loud and proud H-Quad. The quad, the largest group to perform by far, made a scene by spraying green silly string, sporting green glow sticks, and doing an energetic hip-hop routine (only a portion of the quad danced; the rest just sprayed silly string).

One part of the tradition from previous years stayed intact. The students made homecoming banners  that lined the walls around the terrace, sparkling and showing the dedication of Stony Brook students. The best banner contest winners were announced as Chapman Apartments in third place, Whitman College in second, and Tabler Quad taking first.

By the time the showcase event was over, school pride was almost a tangible substance, and it’s safe to say a new tradition is here to stay. Amped up for homecoming weekend, people milled around campus, getting ready to go out and continue to celebrate homecoming weekend.

Those left behind were treated to a concert coordinated by USG. The  student programming director and junior, Moiz Khan, said that homecoming activities such as this are usually left up to the administration, but this year, because of budget cuts, they didn’t have the funds, so USG stepped up to the plate in order to keep up the “homecoming feel” of the weekend.

They brought in the self-claimed “New York’s favorite party band”, The Gyst. They were extremely energetic and very diverse in their music selections. They played “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, “Empire State of Mind”, Katy Perry’s version of “California Girls”, and so many more, even accepting someone’s request to play “Summer”. This is not the first time they’ve performed at Stony Brook; this actually makes the third year they’ve performed here in the fall around homecoming and Halloween. When asked, some of the band members said all of these shows were, “intense,”  and they expected no less of this year’s show.

There was just one problem with the concert: to say the size of the audience was smaller than the audience for the showcase is a gross understatement. The entire terrace was absolutely packed for the showcase, whereas the concert featured an audience so small you could literally fit them all on the stage the band performed on.

The funny thing is that’s exactly what happened. The very lively band got the audience so excited, one boy jumped on the stage and started to jump around and sing along with the band, and people just started running up to the stage.

After the concert, Khan said, “Those who stayed had fun, unfortunately not many stayed.” Khan said he’s not sure if they’re going to be continuing this part of the tradition next year.

Either way, these are all part of what makes homecoming weekend here at the Brook a weekend people always remember!