Every year during Homecoming season, Greek community members come together to pomp — a fun and somewhat infamous decorating activity.
Pomping consists of a few steps, said senior Jeremy Essner, a member of the campus decoration committee.
“You take some tissue paper, and you wrap it around something like a pencil,” he said. “Then you dip it in this glue substance and attach it to sheets of plywood, and you do this over and over until you create a scene.”
Every year, there is a general theme for Homecoming, and there is a participation theme for the residence halls, organizations and Greek chapters. This year’s overall theme is the Black & Gold Standard, and the participation theme is cities.
“We’re really excited to see what everyone does with the city theme,” Homecoming Tri-Director Jordan Denker said. “There’s a lot of different ways that you can incorporate it by using things like an iconic landmark or an event that a city is known for or a sports team.”
While not an exclusively Greek activity, pomping is usually done by the fraternities and sororities on campus. Among the many aesthetic feats that it accomplishes, pomping also creates a very collaborative experience for the different chapters on campus, said senior Peter Birk, the Interfraternity Council vice president of public relations.
“It just provides a good way for the sororities and fraternities to get together and participate in the Homecoming experience here at Mizzou,” he said.
Denker said that pomping positively impacts the community with the short skits that are performed in front of the house decorations.
“It’s a really big thing for families,” she said.