The traditional Lighting of the B ceremony kicked off this year’s Homecoming with new surprises, but left students with mixed emotions.
Along with the usual festivities, including free Homecoming t-shirts and food, music and the lighting, there were several students performance which kept the energy of the night high.
“Performing at the lighting of the B was a lot of fun,” said junior construction major Matt Lewallen, who performed at the event with the swing dance group Swingers. “It was exciting being a part of a Bradley tradition that a lot of people enjoy.”
The performances kicked-off with Barbecue Kitten, Bradley’s comedy troupe, then was followed by the nationally recognized Bradley Speech Team’s skit about adjustment to life at Bradley. A student ska band also performed a version of the Bradley fight song, “Charge On.”
From there a dance-off hosted by campus organizations was held just before the Lighting, with performances from Orchesis, Swingers and Lost Soles.
“I really liked the dancing, but I was confused as to why it was random organizations,” said senior interactive media major Lisa Watkins. “I feel like there should be more representatives from all or most organizations on campus to really build on the school spirit. But the dancing really got me pumped up. All I really wanted to do the entire time was jump out of the crowd and join them.”
The hip-hop dance group Lost Soles closed out the dance-off. Junior civil engineering major Josh Englebrecht said he was excited to perform at the event.
“To be able to pretty much take over the entertainment of such a tradition as Bradley’s homecoming was such an honor,” he said. “The atmosphere was absolutely amazing. [It was] definitely the best and most meaningful performance I’ve been a part of.
The B was lit after an hour of performances, followed by a fireworks show from the top of Bradley Hall.
Even though some students said they were energized by the student performances, others said they were not impressed.
“The first few performances were lame but it got better towards the end,” said senior advertising major Tracey Wong. “I think that having more groups be a part of [the lighting of the B] made it better, but I felt like a lot of people around me weren’t having a lot of fun.”
