IVC celebrates Homecoming 2012 with free food and good times
Men’s Basketball 4 (Tameem Seraj)
Irvine Valley College celebrated Homecoming 2012 with the announcement of their new king and queen, as well as a carnival and free food before the basketball games against Santa Ana Dons on Wednesday.
The new homecoming king and queen were announced during halftime of the women’s game inside IVC’s Hart Gymnasium. Tony Mota, 24, recycling and resource management and Kathleen Wong, 20, biological sciences, were selected among a court of eight as the winners.
“I don’t know what I did. I won, that’s crazy,” Mota said. “I just hope students voted for the right reason.”
To get students excited for the event, the Associated Students of Irvine Valley College sponsored the pre-game festivities outside the gym, which began at to welcome back alumni, students and their families for a night of fun and games.
“I’m very happy and a little surprised,” Wong said, “because I thought the other people deserved it a lot more than I did.”
An In-N-Out Cookout Trailer was parked in the quad to pass out free cheeseburgers and beverages to keep students well-fed and refreshed before the game. The trailer’s arrival quickly drew a crowd to the front of the gym, where DJ The Wanderer was blasting a mix of the latest music and hits from the ‘90s to pump up his audience.
“I was hungry, been studying all day,” said Thomas Yang, 19, business, while biting down on a cheeseburger. “It was nice to get a break with free food and time to hang out with friends.”
The carnival also included a photo booth for friends and families to capture their memories of the night, a money cube with candy prizes for players who catch over a certain amount of paper bills, an airbrush tattoo artists spraying fancy designs on students’ arms, a Dance Dance Revolution arcade machine for friends to show off their skills, and, of course, free cotton candy as the finishing touch.
“I love that everything is free,” said Aaron Horwitz, 18, business administration, after an intense game of DDR. ” Free In-N-Out is like the best thing in the world.”
Shortly before 5:30 p.m., when the women’s basketball game against Santa Ana Dons was schedule to begin, the crowd chowed down their last bites and slowly filed their way into the gym while the anxious homecoming court made final preparations in the hallway.
Shelby Munoz, a homecoming finalist, said she was excited and couldn’t believe she was on the court. Her escort was suffering a bit of stage fright.
“I’m nervous to stand in front of all these people,” said Orr Kotzky, another homecoming finalist and Munoz’s escort.
Homecoming attendees lined up at for free food at the In-N-Out Cookout Trailer. (Jason Chung)