Deaf in DC: A Memoir

17. Strange American Traditions

64 17 Strange American Traditions SOME AMERICANS THINK THEY DON’T HAVE TRADITIONS like Europe and other countries have and are proud of it. They claim proudly that they are too busy exploring new horizons to develop traditions , or so they say. However, I was stumped with some rituals that Americans practice. The first is “homecoming.” On Gallaudet campus, as in almost all American universities and colleges as well as in high schools, homecoming is a huge event. I spent a lot of time trying to understand what homecoming actually meant. Who was coming home? Where was the home? Why the big hoopla about it? The Buff and Blue, the college newspaper, announced that Gallaudet would be playing football against Frostburg at my first homecoming. Who was Frostburg and why he, she, or it was coming home to Gallaudet was not clear to me despite my careful reading of the paper. Dan told me that “it was just another dumb thing” kids do. I was not satisfied and asked the same question of whomever had the patience to listen to stupid questions. The first reaction was always the shock at the incredulousness of my question. These students had grown up hearing the word “homecoming” and understanding its meaning since they started going to school. This question must have been in the same category as “Where does the sun go every night?” There were other things tied to this homecoming: the homecoming king and queen and princesses, a homecoming dance, a parade, and, of course, the football game. As this major event approached, academics took a backseat to this event. I learned that Frostburg was a college and its football team was coming to play our team. A week before the game, the whole campus was plastered with banners bearing slogans like “Go Bisons,” “Beat s t r a n g e a m e r i c a n t r a d i t i o n s 65 Frostburg,” and the like. What shocked me were the insults included in some of these banners. It was a friendly game between two colleges and the visiting team, as guests, should be treated with respect. The language and drawings on the banners were full of insults. For example, one huge banner showed Gallaudet’s mascot, the bison, trampling the Frostburg mascot. My meek comments about this lack of civility were met with such ridicule that I shut up and just watched the whole show. I was fortunate for the “front row” seats for the whole event as I had to photograph every event. There was a parade before the game. All classes and student organizations had built their own “floats.” The beautiful girls chosen as homecoming queen and princesses sat in a convertible car and were driven around slowly as they waved to the crowd like real royalty. I wondered how much time and money the students had spent on building all of those for the parade. All of this ended with a homecoming dance. Not only were all the students there, but a large number of alumni had shown up. I walked around looking at people and saying hellos to those I knew. I got bored after an hour and went back to my room to sleep. So much for homecoming. Then there were these Greek organizations. I was invited to a “rush” party by the Kappa Gamma Fraternity. I wondered who was in what rush but went to the party anyway. There were about twenty or thirty freshmen there. We were given lectures by the officers, which I didn’t understand at all. The only part of the event I liked was the cookies and drinks served after the lecture. I asked a friend what it was about. He told me that this was a kind of orientation to Kappa Gamma, a fraternity on campus. I checked the dictionary about “fraternity” and learned it meant “brotherhood.” What brotherhood? Why this strange name? There were many questions in my mind, but I was afraid to ask fearing ridicule. One evening there was a big buzz about Kappa Gamma coming out. What was Kappa Gamma and where it was coming out from was a mystery , but I decided not to ask any stupid questions. I knew something very interesting was going to happen but was not prepared for what I saw. Soon after the dinner, students crowded outside of Krug Hall. I ventured inside the lobby to see...