JeremyBarrick

Jeremy--

I could be wrong, but you might have trouble getting any strong or interesting reactions from Greensburg residents aside from traffic concerns. Maybe you could take a different angle with them, though: ask those residents who are graduates from other schools what their homecoming celebrations are like, and then compare/contrast them with SHU's events.

Jeremy, I worry that "excluded" is a loaded word. Greensburg is a big place, and most residents aren't SHU students or alumni or their family, who are the people SHU is thinking of when they designed Homecoming. I'm exaggerating a bit but would a story about how SHU students feel excluded from St. Vincent's Homecoming be newsworthy? Why should St. Vincent's try to keep SHU students happy? So, in a similar way, why should SHU plan events to include all of Greensburg?

For your backup, "protocols and guidelines" suggests there's a dusty book somewhere that SHU consults in order to avoid upsetting the ghosts of past Homecomings. I think you will find a mixture of successful events from last time repeated this year, unsuccessful events dropped, and new events created to replace them. How many times in a row does an event have to take place before it counts as a "tradition"? There are dozens of events going on this Homecoming... I think your backup needs a bit more specifics before it would be a viable story pitch. (But I realize you posted these ideas early, before I sent out the e-mail asking you to find sources.)

Thanks for posting your ideas here where others can see them. I really like the way you are so open with your reflections.