An Insider's Guide | CWRU Homecoming Vocabulary

“All-Classes ___”: An event for all classes, not just one. All alumni are welcome no matter which year they graduated.

“Alumni Association of CWRU”: Organization of alumni of CWRU. Similar to student government organizations like Undergraduate Student Government or Graduate Student Council, except for alumni.

“Alumni”: plural, meaning people who graduated from CWRU.  Similar words are “alumnae” (females who graduated from CWRU), “alumnus” (a male who graduated from CWRU), and “alumna” (a female who graduated from CWRU.) “Alumni” usually includes all genders. If you want to avoid designating a gender for one person who graduated from CWRU, you can say “alum” or “graduate.”

“Annual Meeting”: A once-yearly open meeting where an organization invites all members and interested people to learn about the business of an organization.

“Blue Block Party”: an outdoor festival to kick off Homecoming weekend, with music, food, and activities. Thursday evening in Uptown.

“Case Alumni Association”: Organization of alumni of the former Case Institute of Technology, as well as students and alumni of engineering, science, and math.

“Coffee break” or “Coffee with…”: A social event, usually in the morning, where attendees casually meet and talk with each other, and might hear a short presentation. Coffee and light food is usually served.

“Dinner”: A semi-formal or formal event, requiring a ticket and often with a cost for the food. There will be substantial food. You probably should wear nicer clothes than usual.

“Distinguished Lecture”: Very special or esteemed lecturer presenting a talk.

“Golden”: Usually refers to a 50-year anniversary. So, alumni celebrating a golden year would have graduated in 1969.

“Grand Class”: The group of alumni celebrating 50 years since their graduation. This year, that would be the Class of 1969.

“Guided tour” or “tour”: Someone will lead the group, beginning at a particular time and place.

“Homecoming Football”: If you didn’t grow up watching this sport, here’s your chance to experience it! It’s OK if you don’t know all the rules, you’ll get the main idea by watching. Come with a group of friends, and wear a shirt with “CWRU” on it.

“Homecoming Royalty”: Student leaders from the senior class who are honored by a vote of the student body for being exemplary Spartan students. They appear in the parade and are recognized at a ceremony during a break in the football game (known as halftime.) Interesting fact: historically, student bodies used to elect a king and queen, but the CWRU community has chosen to remove the gender factor and honor a group of royalty without restrictions by gender.

“Linsalata Alumni Center”: A clubhouse for alumni, and the center of activity for alumni coming home. Located on Juniper Road.

“Lolly the Trolly”: A tour taken by riding on a bus shaped like an historic trolley car. Lolly the Trolley is a Cleveland tradition.

“Luncheon”: Lunch, usually sitting down, with a speaker or presentation. Slightly more formal than a lunch, but not as formal as a dinner.

“Open house”: A location or office is open to visitors, and those who are in charge of the space invite you to visit and learn.

“Parent and Family”: Parents, family, or friends of CWRU students who visit to celebrate the weekend.

“Reception” or “Social”: A low-structure event where people stand and talk, choosing where to stand or sit, and with whom to speak. Although a leader might make a short presentation about 15 minutes into the event, and there might be displays of information, the event is mostly unstructured. Attendees may arrive and depart at any time during the event, and it is perfectly acceptable to arrive alone or with a friend. The goal is to have people with similar interests talk to each other.

“Reunion”: Literally, a union again. Groups of alumni who were enrolled at the same time and/or graduate in the same year gather together periodically to reconnect and make new connections.

 “Reunion Classes”: Those groups of alumni who graduated a number of years ago ending in 0 or 5. Reunion classes graduated 5, 10, 15, 20 (etc.) years ago. So, this year in 2019, reunion classes are 2014, 2009, 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, etc.

“Self-guided tour”: You will use a brochure or app to tour by yourself or with a friend. You choose when to start.

“Shine On”: a phrase used to refer to the continued vitality of the university. It comes from the lyrics of the alma mater – “shine on, forever, Case Western Reserve…”

“Soiree”: A dinner, but even fancier, often with music and dancing.

“State of the ___ Address”: A leader will tell a large group about recent news from the organization.

“Tailgate”: A picnic or informal meal held immediately before a football game, with food and drink, music, and display of team colors. The word comes from the practice of using the vertical door on the back of a pick-up truck (a “tail gate”) as a place to set the food, but the term evolved to describe the event itself no matter how the food is served.

“Watch Party”: An informal gathering to watch the parade as it passes. Dress in CWRU clothing.