Celebrating Badger spirit: Charles Holley ’88, JD’91 (left) and his son, Hunter, share a laugh at the Homecoming Multicultural Tailgate. Dave Stremikis

As pandemic restrictions eased, the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) held several events in person last fall, to the delight of alumni and friends.

In October, some 120 alumni gathered for their 50-year reunion. A week later, 2,300 Badger grads and fans attended the Homecoming Block Party, and more than 500 participated in a pep rally. The next day, the Multicultural Homecoming Tailgate and Watch Party drew 230 enthusiastic Badgers, and 416 attended the Multicultural Homecoming Yard Show. Another 500 alumni and donors celebrated a successful wrap-up of the All Ways Forward comprehensive campaign.

Other events drawing in-person participation were Home Game Fridays in Alumni Park and Wisconsin Idea Spotlights, including one on UW–Madison LGBTQ+ milestones and another on gene therapy.

Executive Director Sarah Schutt of the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) says that it was a joy to once again welcome alumni back in person. “While our staff did an amazing job of quickly switching to virtual events back in the spring of 2020, we were all anticipating the day when alumni could return to those in-person interactions that just add a richer dimension to learning, socializing, and celebrating Badger spirit.”

WFAA is still offering many virtual learning and enrichment-event options. Homecoming, for instance, boasted nearly 100,000 video views.

But it’s clear that Badgers still value experiencing events together.

“It was a thrill to return to on-campus events this fall,” says Pete Christianson ’71, JD’77. “I attended the 50th anniversary celebration for the Class of 1971. Two weeks later, it was the celebration of the successful conclusion of the All Ways Forward campaign. Neither event would have been as much fun if done virtually!”

Christianson is now trying to figure out which WAA trip to take in 2022. He says it will be “the perfect way to observe and celebrate a return to normal.”

Diamond Howard ’14, MSW’15 and Jordan Gaines ’16 captire a moment at the 2019 Multicultural Homecoming Tailgate. Amadou Kromah

Building on the success of its virtual offerings last year, the Wisconsin Alumni Association is working with a large committee of campus and alumni volunteers to plan both in-person and virtual events during Homecoming week, which begins October 25. At press time, plans called for the return of both the in-person Block Party on Friday evening, Oct. 29, and the in-person Multicultural Homecoming Tailgate and Watch Party on Saturday, Oct. 30.

Badger fans ham it up at the Silent Disco in Alumni Park at the 2018 Homecoming Block Party. Andy Manis

The Block Party will be held in Alumni Park and will include a silent disco, drop-in art activities, and a pep rally with the UW Marching Band, Bucky, and the Spirit Squad. At the Multicultural Tailgate and Watch Party at the Pyle Center from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., guests will cheer on the Badgers and enjoy music, halftime entertainment, a raffle, refreshments, and a cash bar. See here for more details.

Photos by Andy Manis

In 2001, Pete Christianson ’71, JD’77 embarked on a mission to collect all of the UW’s Homecoming buttons since the event began in 1911. His collection was featured on the cover of the Spring 2010 Badger Insider in an article titled “Confessions of a Button Man.”

Thanks to contributions from friends, garage sales, and eBay, Christianson had buttons from every year except eighteen of them. He’s now closed the gap to just eight, although he’s not positive that buttons were issued during all of those missing years. Want to help him out? He’s missing 1943, 1944, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1996.

Christianson’s favorite buttons are the first, 1911, which was the hardest to find and the most expensive on eBay; 1936, a gift from John Weaver, the first president of the UW System, for whom he used to work; 1935, which was the fiftieth anniversary of the marching band; and the 1967 button, which was from his freshman year in college.

He is looking forward to attending Homecoming 2015 on October 17 with his entire family, including his three children and their spouses or fiances (all UW alums) and his three grandchildren.

For those returning to Madison to collect their own 2015 buttons, Homecoming highlights include a pep rally and parade, a BADGER HUDDLE®, and the Wisconsin-Purdue game.

On October 15, Virgil Abloh ’03, who is the creative director for rap star Kanye West, will join Gabriel Stulman ’03, a New York City restaurateur, for a RED Talk (modeled after TED Talks). The topic is how to be successful both in and out of school, and alumni are welcome.

For game-watch parties, locate your chapter website at uwalumni.com/chapters.

Attending a reception at last year’s Multicultural Homecoming were Ada Umubera x’15, Erika Dickerson x’13, Milele Chikasa Anana, and Chika Onwuvuche ’14. Photo: Andy Manis.

Multicultural activities aim to broaden alumni engagement.

Although it’s one of the largest and longest-running traditions on the UW campus, some alumni and students have never felt especially at home during Homecoming.

It’s a feeling that a campus coalition led by WAA is working to change, one inclusive festivity at a time. In 2013, more than 170 attendees participated in the first-ever comprehensive Multicultural Homecoming, and this year’s event built upon the new tradition.

“This was only the beginning of what we hope will become a more extensive dialogue about improving multicultural alumni engagement with the UW and celebrating diversity efforts across the university landscape,” says Tracy Williams-Maclin, director of diversity and inclusion for the Wisconsin Alumni Association. “There’s a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm around the continuation of that mission.”

Multicultural Homecoming is designed to encourage students and alumni from diverse backgrounds to celebrate and network. Organizers hope that fostering a stronger sense of community among diverse alumni will encourage more multicultural participation in broader Homecoming activities and, by extension, more involvement on campus in general.

“Alumni of color can assist the university in areas of student recruitment, mentoring, career networking, volunteer service, and philanthropy,” says Candace McDowell ’73, founder and now director emerita of the UW Multicultural Student Center, who worked closely with fellow alumni to coordinate this year’s celebration. “[This event] provides an opportunity for the university to build a strong culture of engagement, commitment, and philanthropy among multicultural alumni.”

Activities during the 2014 Multicultural Homecoming weekend included a welcome reception, a networking event for students and alumni, panel discussions, game-watch parties, special campus tours, and more.

“Alumni of color [can] relive their campus memories by reconnecting with programs and organizations that were part of their student experience,” McDowell says. “All are enriched when we contribute to and learn from a community comprising people from other backgrounds and beliefs.”

Campus partners that collaborated to host this year’s celebration included First Wave, Latino/Latina Student Association, LGBTQ Association, Multicultural Student Center, National Pan-Hellenic Council/Black Greeks, Office of the Chancellor, PEOPLE, the Posse Program, Wunk Sheek, and the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement.

Learn more at uwalumni.com/mchc.

A tradition for football players at the University of Maryland, this year’s Homecoming foe, is to touch the nose of their mascot for good luck before each home game. Photo: Greg Fiume/University of Maryland Intercollegiate Athletics.

Homecoming opponent Maryland is a Big Ten newcomer.

On October 25, the Badgers will face off against the University of Maryland Terrapins during Wisconsin’s Homecoming football game. The 2014 season marks Maryland’s first as a member of the Big Ten conference, and whether this makes them friends or foes, it’s time to learn a little more about the Terps.

Muppets, but no Mendota

The Adele H. Stamp Student Union, known as The Stamp, is one of the core spots for social activities on the UM campus in College Park, Maryland. Outside the building is a statue of alumnus Jim Henson talking to Kermit the Frog.

As for the view: The Stamp is adjacent to an outdoor amphitheater that kind of looks like a grassy version of the Memorial Union Terrace without any chairs, sailboats, or beer.

A weightier mascot

In 1933, UM unveiled a 300-pound bronze statue of its new school mascot: Testudo, the diamondback terrapin. (It’s a turtle.) Almost immediately, the statue became a target for rival schools. Johns Hopkins students kidnapped Testudo in 1947, and University of Virginia students did so again two years later.

The terrapin then went into hiding before being filled with 700 pounds of cement and getting bolted to its perch in the 1950s. The original statue now sits in Byrd Stadium, with replicas placed elsewhere on campus.

Fiery traditions

Before each home game, Terrapin players touch Testudo’s nose for luck as they run into the stadium. Maryland spectators enjoy singing their fight song (titled “Fight Song”), “reminding” referees to move the sideline chains, and jingling their keys during major offensive plays. (Badgers, of course, only shake their keys during kickoffs.) And each time the Terps score, a small cannon is fired. Bucky’s pushups seem safer.

Learn more about the Wisconsin versus Maryland matchup and the rest of the festivities happening during Homecoming Week at uwalumni.com/homecoming.

Members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Zeta Xi core chapter celebrated their reunion at a multicultural reception at the Fluno Center on Homecoming Weekend. They were among the 110 alumni who attended the UW Multicultural activities in October. The events were just a few of the many festivities that made it one of WAA’s most successful Homecoming Weekends ever.