Armed with hundreds of glow sticks and an illuminating schedule of events, Homecoming 2016 is truly glowing all out this year, largely thanks to the newly formed Homecoming Planning Committee.

In an effort to make homecoming “bigger” this year, and limited by existing programming capacity and personnel, Programming Board (HUPB) has made the executive decision to permanently outsource the week’s responsibilities and establish a specialized committee dedicated to the task. Thus, the Homecoming Planning Committee was born from HUPB’s ashes, taking the fire with them: their first homecoming theme, glow all out.

Since the beginning of last spring, the committee has been working like wildfire to expand the typical scope of homecoming. More than just football games and large display tents on Old Main Lawn, homecoming should ignite school spirit and Piper pride across campus. Rather than concentrating their efforts on a single Saturday night, as was the case in previous years, the Homecoming Planning Committee sparked the creation of a variety of new events and accessories.

By starting up old traditions such as homecoming royalty, creating a fine arts show, kicking off with daily events and decorating campus buildings and sidewalks in red and gray, the committee set off a flare and students quickly caught sight. Over 80 submissions were received for the royalty court and the committee reached their goal of submissions for the fine arts show. Within the first few days of its posting online, the Homecoming Planning Committee’s list of royalty candidates has reached over 2000 people, nearly the equivalent of the entire undergraduate population.

The Homecoming Planning Committee stuck fast to their luminescent theme. After being voted on and approved by the HUSC general assembly last week, the committee has partnered with Allied Sound to temporarily install projectors atop GLC and Bush Memorial Library. During the Saturday night football game against St. Olaf, Hamline red and gray will be projected onto the face of Old Main in the shape of abstract figures; a silent crowd cheering. When the clock tower strikes 9 p.m., the projections will then adopt a color wheel to light up the post-game dance, easily visible from the dance’s location in Kay Fredrick’s Ballroom and the backdrop of the midnight sky.

While the partnership sets HUSC back $5000, the expenditure doesn’t seem to burn quite as severely for the Homecoming Planning Committee. The projectors are a beacon of promise: Homecoming 2016 will be bigger and brighter than before, and the following years brighter still.

So grab the ammunition—the glow sticks are eager to be cracked.