Homecoming is one of the longest student-organized traditions at the University of Wisconsin. This year’s theme, “Lights! Camera! Homecoming!” will put the Hollywood spotlight right here on campus.

The week-long celebration will begin Oct. 10, with free food at Library Mall and the annual Charity Ball.

Homecoming committee members, made up of 60 students, said people will feel like stars as they make a grand entrance on the cardinal-red carpet.

“The Charity Ball is a great excuse to bust out and boogie down in your old prom dress,” Liz Vander Geeten, a committee member, said.

The committee started the preparation for this year’s Homecoming the week after last year’s Homecoming came to a close. This included making turnover files, planning new-member recruitment and selecting the co-chairs.

“I’m expecting the campus to have a really fun week. It’s like the whole campus is one big party,” Anne Marie Fleischmann, a two-year member of the committee, said.

Other committee members said the Charity Ball is one of their favorite college events.

“The Charity Ball reminds me of a high school dance, except the worry about having a date is gone,” Fleischmann said.

Other traditional events taking place include a golf outing, a blood drive, a parade Wednesday night, a campus cleanup and a movie night.

The week will be topped off with the Badger Homecoming game.

Richard Yu, a UW senior majoring in computer science, said he cannot wait for the football game.

“Everyone in the dorm is so happy and excited about the Homecoming game,” Yu said. “It is important because it is all about the school spirit.”

All of these events are a celebration of university students, past and present.

“Homecoming means coming home,” Fleischmann said. “It’s a time when alumni can come back to enjoy the campus while students express their Badger pride. These two groups together make for a very spirited place.”

Although some students said they think Homecoming is just a fraternity or sorority activity, Geeten disagreed.

“Everyone complains that Homecoming is just for Greeks or just for residence halls, but it’s not,” Geeten said. “Movie night is the perfect opportunity for any student to call a few friends and see a free movie.”

Geeten was referring to a free movie night that the Homecoming committee hosts for all students Tuesday night at University Square Theatres.

UW graduate student Edward Yuan agreed that Greeks and dorm residents should not be the only Homecoming Week participants.

“I think Homecoming is for everyone,” he said. “It is just that Greek people take part in most of the activities. For example, they often participate in the student government and the parade.”

As a sorority member, Fleischmann said she was inspired by the Greek system to join the Homecoming committee, but that was not her only motivation.

“It has been more fun than I ever expected,” she said. “It is just a great time for all of us to remember the fun traditions that this university has. I’m really looking forward to it because it will be my last Homecoming as a student.”