Participation is lower than anticipated for ’05 window-fest

Renee Doddy, Koonce assistant residence hall director, and Leah Carothers, McDowell residence hall director, judge the Homecoming window paintings displayed at the Student Center. Ten organizations entered Kent Interhall Council’s competition.

Credit: Steve Schirra

Two large posters adorned the Student Center windows near Einstein Bagels’ pickup window. Eight more wrapped around the corner, barely reaching halfway to the first double doors.

The President’s Spirit Cup Competition’s first phase, the Student Center Window Competition, caught passing students’ attention but failed to rouse much excitement for the Homecoming football game this Saturday.

The President’s Spirit Cup Competition pits student organizations against each other in showing their Kent State pride during Homecoming week.

“I don’t think it really does anything to me to get me excited about anything,” said Matthew Wetzel, sophomore exercise science major. “I might go. I’m not sure. I’m a big football fan; I’m just not sure I’m a big Kent State football fan.”

Twenty organizations had their names on a poster, but because organizations were able to pair together, not every organization had its own poster, Kent Interhall President Justin Jeffery said. Seventeen of the organizations were Greek fraternities and sororities and four were general student organizations.

“I think it really shows how Greek people care,” said Cassandra Helton, senior international relations and political science major. “There’s other organizations out there, of course, but the Greeks are out in full force.”

The posters were judged at 5:30 p.m. yesterday. They were scored on their depictions of organizational pride, Kent State spirit, use of the Homecoming theme “Pluck the Red Hawks” and creativity.

With 32 student organizations and 34 residence halls, there could have been more participation, some judges said. The judges finished judging in under 10 minutes. Homecoming’s early date and the fact that most organizations, including the residence halls, are just getting off the ground was probably a factor in the participation, a judge said.

To promote fairness, the competition judges are not allowed to be directly quoted. The group of judges who spoke with a Daily Kent Stater reporter included Cyndy Richards, Korb and Leebrick residence hall director; Michael Grasso, Centennial Court C and D residence hall director; Renee Doddy, Koonce assistant residence hall director; and Danielle Johnson, Koonce resident assistant.

The judges said they were pleased with the posters as a whole. The organizations incorporated a number of creative ideas into their signs, including adding real feathers and a fabric black squirrel in a “Vote for KSU” T-shirt. All the signs were good in different ways, one judge said.

The window competition’s first, second and third place winners will be announced to the winning organizations by 7 p.m. today, Jeffery said. The Experience Homecoming 2005 Student Relations Committee has not decided whether it will announce the winners of each individual competition or just the final winner of the President’s Spirit Cup Competition to the student body, Jeffery said.

Contact alumni affairs reporter Joanna Adolph at [email protected].