Parade was enjoyable, but lacked student attendance necessary to make it classic Homecoming event

Student Body President Jasmin Jones’ efforts to revitalize the Homecoming parade focused on the concept of making students more active in the celebration of Homecoming.

But this vision failed to materialize Saturday morning. Few students made their way to Franklin Street to observe the parade.

The event itself, however, was not a failure. Although it only lasted 20 minutes, the parade was well-attended by town residents and UNC sports fans awaiting the Homecoming game versus Duke.

And the late inclusion of three floats added some flair to the procession.

But Jones did not put countless hours of effort into this parade for the sake of floats or fans.

The event was resurrected as a part of Jones’ campaign to make Homecoming more appealing to students, but the student body was scarcely present in the crowd of spectators.

Maybe the parade was too early on a Saturday morning.

Maybe students decided to skip when they found out that participating groups were not allowed to throw candy at the crowd.

Maybe the hype would have been bigger if all student groups were given the opportunity to ride on floats.

Whatever the reason, a sizeable amount of the student body chose not to attend.

The parade will simply not have enough momentum to occur in the future if the student body doesn’t take ownership of an event put on for it.

Jones and her parade committee should analyze why student body participation was low, so that the parade can be more successful if picked up by next year’s executive branch.

A Homecoming weekend that gives opportunities for students to celebrate along with alumni is a great idea, but unfortunately that vision did not come together this year.