THE DAILY COLLEGIAN
1 housands return to Penn State for Homecoming
Chloe Elmer/Collegian
A student in a sumo wrestler costume walks with the
Penn State Ohana THON committee during the parade.
The Fusion dance team performs at the Homecoming Pep Rally Friday night. Fusion won
a competition before the Boys Like Girls concert last Sunday to dance at the rally.
Pep rally excites fans,
This year's Homecoming
king and queen were
announced at the rally.
By Vera Greene
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
The Penn State community
was in the presence of royalty
when Blue Band President Justin
Ross and Society of Women
Engineers (SWE) President
Danielle DaSilva were named
Penn State's 2010 Homecoming
king and queen Friday.
As the crowd in Rec Hall erupt
ed into cheers and applause, both
Ross and DaSilva stepped for
ward from their fellow court
members to receive their new
title.
was speechless. I can't
remember anything," Ross said.
mean, I think I was smiling."
Ross said his win wasn't an
individual one instead it was a
win for the Blue Band.
"I'm not representing myself.
I'm representing the band," Ross
said. "They are why I am who I
am, and it's... my experiences
with the members that have
encouraged me and taught me
how to be a leader."
Ross was never in the limelight
before becoming Blue Band pres
ident a job that now puts him
on the field at every game. But at
Saturday's game against Illinois,
he was on the field for a different
reason.
"It was so weird to be on the
sideline as Homecoming king and
ROTC guards shrine as SuePa shares spirited story
By Megan Rogers
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
Though Reserve Officer
Training Corps (ROTC) members
stood guard at the Lion Shrine
throughout Homecoming week,
they were joined on Friday night
by alumni, students and the tradi
tion's instigator: Sue Paterno.
Some people left the pep rally
before the Homecoming king and
queen were announced to hear
Sue Paterno speak about the ori
gins of the tradition.
When Joe Paterno began
coaching in 1966, the football
games were boring, Sue Paterno
told a crowd of about 3,000. She
said students dressed up, sat and
clapped politely.
So to spice up school spirit, she
and two friends dumped orange
paint over the shrine to get fans
I EAR OLD STATE
NOMMO performs during the Homecoming Parade outside of the Allen Street Gates on Friday night. NOMMO focuses on inte
grating dance, theater and music into an experience that reflects the culture and traditions of Africans and African-Americans.
#More photos, stories and
multimedia content from
Homecoming weekend:
ONLINE psucollegian.com
not marching with the Blue
Band," Ross said. "I felt like an
outsider looking in, but it was cool
seeing them perform. It gave me
chills."
Ross said the entire week was
surreal, but his favorite part was
getting to know the court mem
bers.
"They are all such great people
and so involved the
Homecoming committee picked a
diverse group of students," Ross
said. "But we all share the same
characteristics: great students
involved in the community and
university as whole."
And the friendships Ross got
out of the past week will continue
on.
"Even after the fact, we all
hung out this weekend and I can
definitely see us hanging out in
the future," Ross said.
DaSilva said she never consid
ered winning the title of
Homecoming queen. Instead, she
focused on soaking up every
moment of the week, deeming it
one of the best experiences of her
life.
"I was going to be excited for
whoever won they are all awe
some people," DaSilva said. "But
when they announced my name, I
was like, 'Oh my god.' "
DaSilva said her face showed
her genuine shock.
In addition to being named
Homecoming queen, DaSilva said
she had a lot of amazing experi
ences throughout the week.
Usually a spectator to the parade,
DaSilva loved riding around Penn
State in a convertible, seeing the
enraged at the opposing team.
The day after her prank, she
told the crowd, she got a call from
Joe Paterno, telling her they were
going to arrest the culprits.
"I said, 'Why are you telling
me?' " she said.
"He said, 'What are you going to
do with the kids?' "
Her prank was a success
people started being livelier at the
football games and she avoided
jail time. And now, Penn State
boasts the No. 1 student section in
the nation, she said.
Doug Fox said he thought Sue
Paterno's talk was motivating.
"It's just incredible," Fox (soph
omore-recreation, parks and
tourism management) said.
"We're all here for the same rea
son."
As they have done every year
since 1969, ROTC members stood
I, Cl f d
Christine Reckner/Collegian
Members of the Blue Band play traditional Penn State fight songs at the Guard the Lion
Shrine event Friday night.
Asit Mishra/Collegran
Justin Ross, right, and Danielle
DaSilva, left, were crowned
Homecoming king and queen at
the end of the Pep Rally Friday.
enthusiastic crowd
Like Ross, DaSilva's experi
ence was made richer by becom
ing friends with her fellow court
members.
"It was such an honor to get to
know them. We made some great
memories," DaSilva said.
"Like, every time we didn't
know what to do or just needed to
pass time, we would start danc
ing."
Ross said he and DaSilva want
to do some volunteer work to
improve the relationship of stu
dents with the surrounding com
munity.
To e-mail reporter: vhgsoo3@psu.edu
at "parade-rest" in front of the lion
from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. each night of
Homecoming week.
"It's a lot better than last year,
because it's not snowing," ROTC
member Chris Brittingham (soph
omore-security risk analysis) said.
The members take half-hour
shifts, ROTC member Brendan
Killian said. Sometimes upper
classmen will come by to try to
break their concentration, he said.
"Someone once came up and
asked if we were real," Killian
(sophomore-security risk analy
sis) said.
The program drew a crowd of a
few thousand people, said Jackie
Boyland (senior-human develop
ment and family studies), Lion
Ambassador committee director
for the event.
To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu
crowns royalty
Blue Band energizes crowd
By Vera Greene
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER
After an ice cream and float
filled day, the Homecoming pep
rally brought Friday night's Illinois
football eve to a close.
Adorned in blue and white bal
loons, Rec Hall buzzed with excite
ment from alumni and students
alike. Appearing in front of the
stage, the Nittany Lion was beck
oned by a hearty "We Want the
Lion" chant from the crowd, as
people piled together in the
bleacher seats.
For Olivia Hoover, events like
the pep rally make her feel more
bonded to Penn State even though
she's a freshman.
Hoover (freshman-psychology)
said she brought her boyfriend to
the rally to show him real school
spirit. "It's a lot of fun to see all the
alumni here," she said. can see
myself coming back even after I've
graduated."
Kicking off the rally, the Glee
Club performed "Hail to the Lion"
to a crowd of pulsing porn pours.
Continuing the school spirit, the
Blue Band and baton twirlers
brought the crowd to its feet dur
ing "Fight on State" and "Hey
Baby."
Getting the crowd riled up, 2010
Homecoming Grand Marshal and
speed skating Olympian Allison
Bayer walked onto the stage,
bronze medal around her neck,
and spoke to the crowd about her
experiences.
Sue Paterno receives flowers at the Guard the Lion Shrine event Friday
night. Paterno shared a story about painting the shrine orange.
MONDAY, OCT. 11, 2010 17
Chloe Elmer/Collegian
"Dream big,
because impossible
is nothing."
Allison Bayer
Homecoming Grand Marshal
- Dream big, because impossible
is nothing," Bayer, Class of 2003,
said.
At the end of the rally. Penn
State gained a new Homecoming
king and queen.
The crowd in the Rec Hall went
wild as Society of Women
Engineers (SWE) President and
Biomedical Engineering Society
Treasurer Danielle DaSilva
stepped forward from her fellow
court members and received her
crown.
With a smile on her face, a sash
around her body and a crown on
her head, DaSilva (senior-bioengi
neering and mechanical engineer
ing) was joined a few seconds later
by her regal counterpart Blue
Band President and 2010
Homecoming King Justin Ross
(senior-mechanical engineering).
"The pep rally was awesome
and I loved the fact it was in Rec
Hall," Nzhingha Nkhrumah (jun
ior-communication arts and sci
ences) said. "I bleed blue and
white ... I'm busting at the seams.
There was such a huge amount of
Penn State pride at this rally"
To e-mail reporter: vhgsoo3@psu.edu