From the Red River to the Rio Grande — it’s a Texas high school tradition that’s… *grown over the years. This Typewriter Rodeo poem came by request from Texas Standard listener Linda Newman. She observed homecoming mums used to be real and about the size of a grapefruit. Now, she says they’re artificial and bigger than a football!
Some alumni just love the schools they attended and cannot wait to go back for Homecoming and Reunion. Other alumni say “good riddance” as soon as they get their diploma and never want to hear from their schools again. In this episode of KUT’s podcast Higher Ed, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton and Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger discuss what keeps alumni connected to their schools and how social media has impacted that relationship. Ed believes that many alumni come back to Homecoming and Reunion to be “re-nourished” in the way they were doing school. And since alumni can now keep up with each others’ lives and news so easily on social media, they can connect with each other and the school at a deeper lever during those return visits. Listen on for more of Ed and Jennifer’s discussion about how schools support their alumni and how alumni support their schools. Plus, does Ed think alumni ever come back to Homecoming or Reunion just to “show off” a little? One thing Ed does think for sure is that the puzzlers as of late have gotten a little too easy! So in this episode, Ed introduces what may be the trickiest puzzler yet about pathways on a checkerboard.
This episode was recorded Sept. 22, 2017.