Homecoming 2018: A Message from President Fedrick
ASU Family, Friends, and Supporters:
Shortly after Hurricane Michael made landfall, our ASU team immediately went into action – assessing the damage, securing the campuses, and helping to determine our next steps forward.
While we have worked hard to prepare for Homecoming 2018, the devastation to Southwest Georgia takes priority over our traditional homecoming events. Despite all of the efforts currently underway, we regret to inform you that we must significantly scale back on our planned activities.
Many residents – including students, faculty, and staff – are still without power and water six days after the hurricane, which also means they are without hot food and nourishment. Many are just starting the repairs on their homes, while others will have to find new homes for their families after their homes were destroyed. Thankfully, the region was gifted with hundreds of extra utility technicians to assist with restoring power, water, and phone lines. Also, technicians were deployed to Albany from other areas to assist with tree removal and structural restoration.
The influx of technicians, in addition to power and water outages, have placed a strain on an already devastated city. This means our hotels, restaurants, and other amenities are stretched to the limit. Our local hotels will need to cancel many of the current homecoming hotel reservations in order to accommodate the sheer number of heroes arriving to Albany to help restore the Good Life City. As president of ASU, I back those cancellations 100 percent. We must get our community back in shape. We are one Albany, and we support this community which is the ASU community.
Students are set to return to campus Wednesday afternoon, and we will have various homecoming activities for our students for the remainder of the week. Students can find a tentative list of these activities at https://www.asurams.edu/institutional-advancement/homecoming/. On Saturday, October 20, ASU will show up big for the Albany community for the ASU Day of Service, Homecoming Block Party, and Homecoming Football Game.
After consulting with local officials, ASU student leaders, and ASU alumni leaders, activities sponsored by the National Alumni Association and the ASU Foundation sponsored events, including the Blue & Gold Scholarship Gala, the Homecoming Parade and the Street Festival, are cancelled. We strongly encourage non-University sanctioned homecoming events organized by third party groups to cancel their activities as well.
The ASU Foundation will honor ticket purchases and sponsorships for the rescheduled Gala (Spring 2019). All parade entry fees will be refunded automatically. For more information about Gala or parade refunds, please contact the ASU Division of Institutional Advancement by phone at 229-317-6923 and by email at advancement@asurams.edu.
I send to you my personal apologies for having to make this decision, but it is a decision that is unavoidable. I trust that you will plan to participate in Saturday’s events, especially our Day of Service and Homecoming football game to support our students and student-athletes. However with hotel space at its max, you will need to make arrangements to exit the city by curfew, which begins at midnight and ends at 5 a.m. I apologize for the inconvenience that I’m sure this will cause.
As supporters of ASU and the region, I know that you understand that homecoming is not just about the events, but the dedication to the University and its students. Please continue to support ASU as we once again prove that we are the Unsinkable Albany State University.
Sincerely,
President Marion Fedrick