Carleton hosted its second annual “Throwback” after the re-establishment of the homecoming tradition last year with 34 different events that took place from Oct. 16-19.
Events ranged from formal dinners and networking receptions, to lectures and class reunions, said Mark Savenkoff, director of alumni and donor relations.
While attendance numbers have not yet been filed, Savenkoff said about 100 people were in attendance at each of the events.
Marc Garneau, former Carleton chancellor, and James Duthie, Carleton journalism graduate, both took part in alumni events.
“[Homecoming] provides grads with the opportunity to re-connect with their fellow grads and the university again,” Savenkoff said. “I think it really helps to add to the great excitement and energy on campus.”
The Bachelor of International Business (BIB) program celebrated its 20th anniversary on Oct. 18.
Due to the program’s small size, a lot of alumni were interested in coming back, Savenkoff said.
Sarah McKinnon, a first-year BIB student, said the evening was an inspiring night and showed how much the program had changed since its inception. She said It also gave her the chance to connect with BIB graduates.
“There were a few who had graduated just this April and were already talking about the jobs that they were in, within six months of graduating,” McKinnon said. “That was really great to hear their success stories and their advice for travelling abroad.”
Mark Hargreaves, community liaison officer, said campus safety saw no problems during the festivities.
Campus safety plans were only altered on Oct. 18, the day of the homecoming football game, he said. Staff had a strong presence at the game, and on residence, with regular Student Safety Patrol hours being increased, Hargreaves said.
The campus safety changes were similar to those made for last year’s Throwback, he said.
While Carleton alumni played a large role in the week, both the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) and The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) made sure current students also got involved.
Both CUSA president Folarin Odunayo and Rawan Abujoub, vice-president (external), acted as student representatives on Throwback’s planning committee meetings.
“CUSA’s contribution in general was trying to encourage student involvement,” Odunayo said. “I think what we saw from last year was a bit of an increase in student participation.”
As part of the week, CUSA hosted a Glow Party at Oliver’s on Oct. 16, an event that Odunayo said reached full-capacity.
The Rideau River Residence Association (RRRA) gave out 1000 free homecoming football game tickets to students, said RRRA vice president (administration), Graham Pedregosa.
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