Red Victoria’s Secret underwear, pom-poms, bikinis and red towels hanging in dorm windows, come Friday morning, won’t be a shocking sight – at least not to those familiar with “The Hanging of the Red.”
Western’s annual “The Hanging of the Red” contest continues this Friday during Homecoming week festivities.
The tradition was first documented in 1961, said Suellyn Lathrop, an assistant professor who works in library special collections at the Kentucky Building.
The Hanging of the Red is one of three contests that dorms participate in during Homecoming week. The other two are making banners and decorating dorm lobbies for Homecoming, said Blair Silliman, coordinator of student programs. “The Hanging of the Red” is the last of these events.
Students may hang anything red in their window before 8 a.m. on Friday, she said. There are no restrictions on what can be displayed in the windows.
“As long as it’s red, it counts,” Silliman said. “And trust me, I’ve seen everything.”
If 50 percent or more of the residents in a hall participate, then the hall receives participation points. Points are also given for lobby decorations and banners, she said.
The winning hall receives the Homecoming trophy and bragging rights for the rest of the year, Silliman said.
Morgan Wickline, president of Bates Runner Hall Council, said that she thinks upperclassmen aren’t really excited for the contest, but she does think that they will cooperate and participate.
The Bates Hall Council made cutouts of campaign buttons with “Go Big Red” written on them to distribute to Bates residents so that they can hang them in their windows.
Hartford freshman Aaron Daniel said he wasn’t sure of the “Hanging of the Red” theme for Minton Hall this year, but his resident assistant told him to hang the red towels that he got during MASTER Plan in his windows.
“I guess it never really interested me,” Daniel said about Homecoming.
Minton’s theme for decorating its lobby was “Painting the Town Red” complete with a mural of a mock city and an “Air Force Red” airplane.
Louisville sophomore Melissa Foushee, who is a RA in Minton, said about 14 students helped with the decorations on Monday night.
Gilbert Hall was the winner of last year’s contest, Silliman said.
Nashville junior Lashonda Fuqua, an RA in Gilbert, said she hopes the dorm will be successful again this year.
Last year to get residents involved, dorm officials had window paint at the front desk that residents could check out and use to decorate their windows, Fuqua said.
This year, Gilbert RAs are considering using the Homecoming theme “Big Red for President” and making cutouts of him to dress up, she said.
“We will send out e-mails to everyone, and we’ll leave stuff that they can use at the front desk,” Fuqua said.
Reach Mary Barczak at news@chherald.com.
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