Homecoming 2023: A Viking Victory

by Rishita Nossam ('26)

On September 29, South Brunswick High School hosted its annual Homecoming (HoCo) game. This year’s event was slightly different from years past, due to the rainy weather that met South Brunswick that night. During halftime, hundreds of students watching the football game poured into the annex gym, and seemed excited about all of the fun halftime events included in Homecoming. However, the football game continued outside, with the South Brunswick Vikings defeating the Monroe Township Falcons with a score of 21-0. The night, although it was a different experience, provided the student body with endless memories and ended in a huge victory for South Brunswick!

This year, the Homecoming Theme was “Around the World.” Each grade’s Class Council set up floats that corresponded with their class’s country, which was voted on by each grade. Freshmen were Egypt, sophomores were France, juniors were Italy, and seniors were Greece. The Student Council encompassed all of these countries, representing the entire world. To show school spirit for each grade’s respective country, members of each grade wore colors that represented their country’s flag such as red, green, white, black, and blue. Each of the classes’ floats was also altered to adapt to the rainy weather, being displayed on tables in the annex gym. This change was unique, but worked out in the end. Members of Student Government were able to make full use of the table space to decorate, and their hard work and dedication was evident on Homecoming Night.

Student Council Advisor Mrs. Harlee Olsen said, “[Having to do Homecoming indoors] definitely added another layer of preparation and shift, but this is something that we have had to do before, so we did have a little bit of experience of how to make this work. I don’t think we anticipated as many people coming inside as they did, but it was really great to see so many people excited about the halftime show, about seeing what the kids did, [about] seeing the Homecoming Court. So it was definitely a challenge, but I think every council handled it really well and was able to make their floats work.”

For the Class of 2024, this Homecoming is a special one. Seniors will be parting with this tradition when they leave SBHS next June, making this year’s Homecoming one to remember. Specifically for twelve seniors, this Homecoming was different—rather than watching from the stands, these seniors made up the Homecoming Court, a beloved SBHS tradition.

Halftime also occurred inside, and the crowing of a King and Queen was modified last minute to fit the demands of the unexpected weather. This year’s Court included twelve seniors, six girls and six boys, of which two were crowned as HoCo King and Queen at the end of halftime. This year’s nominees for HoCo queen were: Gianna Angermeier, Urja Dhami, Casey Jarvis, Anna Pham, Navika Sharma, and Sanvi Somayaji. As for the nominees for HoCo King, they were: Leon Chien, Nishan Datta, Braden Paulmenn, Matthew Pierre, Aiden Silva, and Kingyou Zhang. Throughout the week, SBHS students voted for Homecoming Queen and King, and the results were announced at the end of halftime, where Urja Dhami was crowned HoCo Queen and Aiden Silva was crowned HoCo King!

Homecoming Queen and Senior Class President Urja Dhami said, “I didn’t think I was actually going to win, and when I heard my name get called, I was [really surprised about] what happened … I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I actually won.’ When everyone came up to me to congratulate me, it was so overwhelming but in a good way, so it was nice. … I’m really sad about [leaving Homecoming behind]. It’s like senior year is starting to hit now, so it’s sad, but I’m really happy that I made this Homecoming as memorable as it could be.”

Throughout the week leading up to Homecoming, Student Council held a spirit week focused on the “Around the World” theme. The week’s outfit themes were: Airport Fit on Monday, Tacky Tourist on Tuesday, Class Color Day on Wednesday, and Class Country Color Day on the Friday of Homecoming. The class with the most Viking Spirit during the week was awarded the Spirit Cup at halftime as well, and as they have for the past four years, the Class of 2024 won again. They were presented with the trophy around the middle of halftime, maintaining their long and cherished record.

Of working on HoCo behind-the-scenes, Student Council President Athira Kunnath said, “[Homecoming] was just a lot of last-minute preparations, but I think all of the Class Councils and Student Council were prepared enough to make quick changes at the last minute. I do really love being outside, but I also feel like this [this experience] gave people who came to watch a better look at the different floats and halftime overall.”

This year’s Homecoming was truly one for the books. Students turned a challenge into something new and creative and were able to enjoy the event regardless of changes. The memorable event was a success, wrapping up the spirit week with an unforgettable experience and allowing students to unwind as they spent quality time with their friends. Although unique, this Homecoming will forever be remembered by the student body, as they await SBHS’s next event—the Winter Pep Rally!