University of Southern California
Volume LXX/I, Number 19	Los	Angeles, California	Friday,	October	14,	1977
Daily
Troian
In 1924, Woodrow Wilson died, Congress declared that Indians were U.S. citizens, regular day-and-night air mail was started between New York and San Francisco, Calvin Coolidge was elected President — and USC held its first homecoming.
Fifty-three years later, the university has seen Homecoming evolve from a two-day affair of banquets and a football game to a week-long celebration involving most academic departments and all students, and ultimately to what it is today — a day-long get-together primarily for alumni with little involvement by students.
According to a Daily Trojan published in 1924, Dec. 5 and 6 (the first Homecoming) are memorable dates in the history of USC. The dates marked a new era in achievement, a new step forward for the school.
The alumni had long asked for one day each year to be set aside in their honor. Before 1924, they usually visited the campus around commencement time. Then, to keep in step with universities in the East, the school initiated Homecoming, aiming for a program with a close relationship between student body and the alumni association.
(continued on page 5)
DT photo by Doug Gray