For the first time in campus history, the freshman class received first place for their homecoming float, Oct. 3. The class of 2012 represented the bluegrass music genre for the 2008 homecoming theme, “The Rhythm is Gonna Getcha.”

“I was shocked and excited [when I found out we won],” Trevor York said. “I was surprised because the freshmen have never gotten first before. We worked hard to be the the only freshman class to win.”

The sophomore class placed fourth with a theme of disparate rap eras, the juniors placed third with a rendition of ’90s pop and the senior class placed second with a representation of techno, during the campus’ 24th annual homecoming.

While most classes do not expect success from the freshman float, the newcomers planned an extravagant creation that included a live chicken, a square dance and a skit involving an outhouse.

“They had a lot of activity, props and students involved,” Beatriz Foth, a homecoming float judge, said. “I could tell they put a lot of time and effort into their float.”

In concurrence with many upperclassmen, senior Hayley Volpa-Olsen believes the freshmen received an unfair amount of help from parents.

“I heard there was a contractor who planned out the whole float and that everything was donated to them,” Volpa-Olsen said. “We built our float by ourselves and we had to raise money to get what we wanted.”

Freshman class representative Brady Lee denies any rumors of outside assistance, countering such allegations with the emphasis instead on teamwork and dedication on the part of his classmates.

“The freshmen worked extremely hard,” Lee said. “We worked every Saturday and Sunday for four hours a day.”

Despite some upperclassmen claims, freshman Mary Hierholzer felt honored to be a part of campus history.

“I felt really insulted that [other classes] didn’t believe that we could accomplish it on our own,” Hierholzer said.” I’m proud of it and we worked hard to do it.”

At the outset of the project, most freshman were unhappy with the bluegrass genre. Freshman Austen Houts first scoffed at the idea of the theme but knew the freshmen would need to work together to impress the judges.

“I didn’t like the idea of a bluegrass float,” Houts said, “but in the end it turned out to be a good thing. We worked together to make a bad thing good. I believe that the hard work paid off.”

For more information on the freshman homecoming float, visit the Sept. 29 article, Bluegrass motif dominates freshman float.