By Megan Elizabeth Gill Unigo Campus Rep at UNC-Chapel Hill
For many Tar Heel alumni, homecoming is a chance to return to the school they loved for a weekend of football and showing off their old stomping grounds to family and friends. For those of us that are still students, however, homecoming is more than a football game. The football game is simply the culmination of a week full of concerts, themed dress-up days, free food, and countless giveaways. While we always hope to win the game, it’s undeniable that UNC’s homecoming, known as RAMpage, is more than just one game. Starting the week off right, the homecoming committee sponsored “Decades Day,” which encouraged students to dress in their favorite decades gear that Monday. You could come to the Pit and compete in the “Wing-Eating Contest” with the football players, or give the Pie-Eating Contest or Football Tosses a shot. Monday night ended with a concert in Memorial Hall featuring the Gym Class Heroes. Tuesday and Wednesday were Rock Star and Superhero Day respectively and offered free events and food throughout the day. Whether you wanted to play Rock Band with the men’s basketball team, guess the number of blue and white M&Ms in a jar, compete in the student four-square game, or purchase the official homecoming shirt, RAMpage continued to be a presence in the Pit. And while many students cast their votes for president on Tuesday, Wednesday was another busy voting day for UNC students. All day on Student Central, students were able to cast their ballot for both homecoming king and homecoming queen. Unlike other schools that nominate students based on club affiliations or other means, UNC has a self-nomination process. Along with campaigning for votes by passing out reminders and advertising on A-frame signs, nominees must sponsor a service-project that they plan to enact upon being crowned. Projects range from developing better gang prevention in the Durham and Chapel Hill school systems, to setting up a pen-pal program between middle school students in Chapel Hill and students in Tanzania. Thursday and Friday were Tacky and School Spirit Days on campus. These days consisted of musical chair competitions, free subs from gourmet sandwich shop Jimmie John’s, trivia competitions between students and athletes, and performances by UNC’s oldest a cappella group, the Clef Hangers. Homecoming week wrapped up for students with a tailgate party on the Bell Tower lawn where free Chick-fil-A sandwiches and drinks were handed out to students starting three hours prior to the game. At the tailgate, you could also pick up a Carolina blue fly swatter to take to the football game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. At halftime of the football game, students and fans learned that this year’s homecoming king and queen would be Jeremy Crouthamel and Meredith Martindale. We were also able to watch both the Marching Tar Heels and the Marching Tar Heels Alumni band perform at halftime. Tar Heel football fans, the homecoming court, and a student section filled to the brim cheered on the Heels to a fantastic 28-7 victory over the Yellow Jackets. 
The team meets in the end zone of the student section known as the Tar Pit after their 28-7 victory over Georgia Tech.