He is one of thousands of alumni, current students and community members who will arrive this weekend for MSU’s Homecoming events, proudly showing off his green and white.

Go green

This year’s theme, “We’ve Always Been Green,” reflects MSU’s goal to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable, university officials said.

From floats made out of recyclable materials to more Homecoming organizing online, the school has continued to set the bar in environmental standards.

“MSU is front and center in taking the lead,” said Gordon Guyer, a grand marshal and former MSU president. “(Everyone) from the president down to the last student has some interest and some priority in recycling and keeping things green.”

Sending an environmental message to alumni is important, MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said.

“You have people who (graduated) 50-plus years ago and people who graduated last year,” she said. “We thought it was a very important message to send.”

The emphasis on being green shows a positive change at MSU, which might not have been as environmentally focused in the past, said Tory Maynard, vice president of finance for the MSU Student Alumni Foundation.

“It’s cool that we’re incorporating new ideas and new traditions into old traditions,” she said. “Recycling and sustainability is a new concept, but we’re incorporating it with our old traditions.”

Maynard helped organize the construction of floats used in today’s parade. Float builders were encouraged to use recyclable materials in construction and to pull their floats with hybrid vehicles.

More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the parade, parade coordinator Regina Cross said.

Sustainability has been part of MSU’s DNA for a long time, said Jennifer Sowa, project coordinator in the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Operations.

“MSU is not just riding the next wave of what’s popular,” she said.

Welcome home

More than 800 alumni are registered for some of the events this weekend as they return to a place they still call home.

“It’s a fun, exciting week for us because so many alumni come back to campus,” said Kim Kittleman, director of alumni engagement for the MSU Alumni Association. “Alumni, as they move away from the university, want to maintain that connection.”

Some, such as Guyer and Goodheart, didn’t go far after they graduated, and live in the state.

“I never had a day that I didn’t look forward to going to school when I was a student,” Guyer said. “If it hadn’t been … a great university I wouldn’t have had that commitment.”

Political science and pre-law senior Kaushi Muthukuda is on this year’s Homecoming court and said she is proud of the many accomplished alumni.

“It really comes down to the fact that we have individuals who are doing all these great things around the world,” Muthukuda said. “To come back home to East Lansing once a year and showcase all the Spartan pride and spirit … that’s something that’s really remarkable.”

Muthukuda said she will return to MSU as much as possible after graduation.

“It’s just like coming back home,” she said.

Memorable traditions

Spartan traditions not seen for almost 10 years at MSU will be brought back this Homecoming, such as the Spartan chariot, Goodheart said.

“During the 1990s, the Spartan chariot was an annual fixture in the football stadium,” he said. “(There was) a pair of horses drawing a chariot in the style of ancient Sparta and we had the caricature of a Spartan warrior driving it and he had the full plume on his hat.”

Drawn by a horse named Sparticus, the chariot will be brought back in some capacity this year and will be at the parade Friday night, Goodheart said.

This and more MSU traditions create memories that keep alumni connected, Guyer said.

“They’re all good memories,” he said. “These days, memories are the most important … we still maintain a friendship with (alumni) throughout the world.”

An out-of-state student, Maynard said when she goes home, people recognize the MSU name.

“Every time I wear a Michigan State shirt at home, at least a couple of people approach me and say, ‘Go green,’” she said.

“A lot of students and local alumni in Michigan don’t really know that reach that we have. You really think that MSU is just a Michigan school, but it has a huge global reach.”

Students at MSU might have good and bad memories after spending four-plus years at school, Goodheart said.

The good ones hopefully will be more memorable and keep students coming back, he said.

“The good memories are the ones you’ll recall and you’ll just want to relive those and remember them,” Goodheart said. “Age can take a lot of different things away from you, but it can’t take your memories away and how you felt … the great times you had while you were on campus.”