By Eric Wallace

Homecoming has been a staple event in the Bishops Community. Students and Alumni have enjoyed the tradition for generations. It has always been more than bleeding purple. It brings the community together. Students, alumni and the wider Lennoxville community come together to celebrate what makes BU feel like home. However, we can’t overlook the incident at last year’s events on Reed Street, which casts a looming shadow over this year’s homecoming. Will it feel the same? Can we have the same amount of fun as in previous years? Can we preserve the spirit of Homecoming without repeating the mistakes that nearly cost us the tradition altogether? I believe we can, but only if we as students start to acknowledge the culture that allows it to happen.

I believe BU has gotten too big for its bubble. The homecoming tradition has now stretched outside of the small Lennoxville bubble. Our tradition and pride create a tourist attraction for outside students, friends and family, as well as for people in nearby communities. This is a double-edged sword situation. On one hand, Lennoxville has an increase in traffic, which is good for business. However, the tradition that entices people to visit is unregulated and, in some people’s eyes, chaotic. “I enjoy the tradition, but I think it creates a space for vandalism to take place”, said a third-year student.

Homecoming will only feel the same if we decide it will. The tradition was never built on chaos. It was built on connection. It was built on students who cared enough to show up, alumni who cared enough to return, and a community that cared enough to open its doors year after year. That spirit didn’t disappear in 2025, but it was overshadowed. If we ignore the culture that allowed things to escalate, we risk letting one night define an entire legacy.

Preserving Homecoming doesn’t mean watering it down. It means maturing with it. It means recognizing that our bubble isn’t a bubble anymore, and acting like stewards of a tradition that now attracts far more than just Bishop’s students. We can celebrate loudly, proudly, and safely, but only if we reclaim the tone of the event from those who treat it like a spectacle The harsh reality of the O-Week Concert instead of a community gathering.

Hoco on the Hill is the new event to our beloved tradition. I believe this could be the happy medium we need for the culture. Keeping students on campus where the gathering is regulated helps with the uncertainty. People will try to do their own thing, but now Homecoming is more spread between events, keeping the crowd in certain areas smaller and more easily managed. Fewer people in one spot will decrease the amount of unwanted activity in the crowd.

The future of Homecoming depends on us choosing responsibility over recklessness, intention over impulse, and pride over performative chaos. If we do that, then yes, we can have fun, we can keep the tradition alive, and we can make sure Homecoming continues to feel like coming home.