Elizabeth Heffernan & Shauna McKnight | Copy Co-Editor, Co-Editor-in-Chief

For many students Homecoming is associated with coronation, the football game, Triviathon, or any one of the fun events put on by student organizations throughout the week. But Homecoming also symbolizes something more than just fun events. It is a time when alumni get to return to Buena Vista University (BVU) and when current students get to come together and celebrate their school and everything it stands for. BVU has a rich history of traditions that make us into a stronger community and help shape how we as students view our life as a Beaver. Here are a few of the traditions that help make BVU so special.

Christmas Dinner
The Christmas Dinner is one of the most well-loved BVU traditions by both students and alumni. Every year before Christmas break students are invited to attend this event where they are served dinner by staff and faculty. At the dinner there are choral performances, a school gift is presented, and students join together in the spirit of the holidays.

“All of my friends are jealous because I still get to go to the Christmas dinner,” Director of Civic Engagement Ashley Farmer-Hanson said. It is a time when students and faculty can all come together and put aside any differences to enjoy being a part of one school and one community.

President Fred Moore said that this is one of his favorite traditions. “I love that everyone comes together, and it gives us a chance to turn the tables a little bit, and we get to serve the students,” Moore said.

Buenafication Day
Buenafication Day is one of the oldest traditions on campus. Originally known as “Hobo Days”, this day was first celebrated in 1913. Students would dress up as hobos and go door-to-door in the community, offering to do service and odd-jobs in exchange for a home cooked meal. But since that time, Buenafication Day has come a long way.

“This is more than just about us as a university,” Farmer-Hanson said. “It..gives us a chance as a campus community to come together for one common cause to create unity.”

“It used to be spontaneous, and nobody knew it was happening until it was actually happening. Since we’ve started planning it, we’ve been able to make a greater impact and actually involve the Storm Lake community in our efforts. The community is very appreciative of our service,” Moore said.

Today, Buenafication Day is a time when students gather together, organize, and then go out into the community for a day of service. According to Farmer-Hanson, just this last spring BVU students worked together with K-12 students in the Storm Lake public schools and the K-5 students at St. Mary’s. “It’s definitely grown into a community project,” Farmer-Hanson said.

Farmer-Hanson believes traditions are important because they define who we are. “They allow us to connect to our past but also bring it forward to the future. I love that feeling of community that comes out of traditions.”

The Victory Arch
The Victory Arch is a symbol of struggle and people supporting one another during a tragedy. When Old Main burned down in 1956, it was a catalyst to ushering in a new era for BVU.

“[The fire] very well could have been the end of the university. It represents a time when our community came together in a time of distress and worked together for the common good,” Moore said.

For freshman as they walk through for the first time, the arch symbolizes their transition into the world of BVU. For seniors, when they walk back through on Commencement Day for the last time, it marks their entrance into the real world. This tradition is very meaningful for students.

“One year during graduation, it was raining. We suggested to the students that we would call it off, but they were very upset,” Moore said. “So we let them walk through it. As they were standing outside on the platform, the wind picked up and it started to rain and when they came inside they were all completely soaked from head to toe. They had to sit through the two hour ceremony like that, but I didn’t hear a single person complain.”

Photo by Makensie Brown