Western University marks 70th homecoming, 50th anniversary of Saugeen-Maitland Hall

Western University’s homecoming gets underway Friday and this year marks some major milestones.

It’s the 70th official homecoming and also the 50th anniversary of the student residence Saugeen-Maitland hall.

“We’re going to be putting on Canada’s best homecoming for the 70th time in Western’s history. Fifteen thousand people are expected to come,” explained homecoming chair David Simmonds.

“I think we’re all very excited about the undefeated Western Mustangs playing Ottawa this Saturday, excited about our women’s hockey team taking on Brock at 7 p.m. on Saturday. We’re celebrating 50 years of Saugeen-Maitland Hall so I think there’ll be a lot of people in red, yellow and green just celebrating the relationships they made on campus. There’s something for everybody this weekend.”

Simmonds grew up outside of London but drew on the name “homecoming” to describe his relationship to Western University and the city of London.

“Coming back to Western is like coming home. I remember the first time I drove over the bridge and saw the tower, I thought it was something really special. Western’s a place that can stretch you and challenge you intellectually, emotionally, culturally. I found some of my best friends at Western.”

This will be the first official homecoming under Western’s new president, Alan Shepard.

The official homecoming comes roughly three weeks after fake homecoming, or FoCo, celebrations drew roughly 25,000 revellers to Broughdale Avenue.