Morgan State University kicked off its 157th homecoming week celebration with a successful coronation ceremony for Mister and Miss Morgan on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Friends, families and Morganites gathered in the Murphy Fine Arts Center’s auditorium to celebrate the inauguration of the university’s Mister and Miss Morgan State University for the 2024-2025 academic year. The coronation is a traditional celebration honoring the university’s student leaders, bringing the Morgan community together.
“I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s enthusiasm at such a sophisticated event celebrating the excellence of our fellow bears,” said Clarke Arnold, a junior biology student at Morgan.
Multiple attendees shared that despite the memory of last year’s incident, they still had a good time.
“Last year’s homecoming [shooting] was in the back of my head a little, but I feel like the energy is just better this year,” said Chad Coleman-Lynch, a junior mechatronics engineering major and Mister Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC).“We all want to have a better homecoming this year, so I feel like for the most part, everyone’s on, their p’s and q’s behaving. So, it was good.”
The ceremony opened with a praise dance, the Morganette’s dance battle and a fashion show by Fashion At Morgan, followed by a skit featuring Mister Morgan Xavier Johnson and Miss Morgan Yasmine Bryant.
“Everyone looked so stunning and this is truly a night to remember,” said Arnold.
Coronation had two segments, taking place from 7p.m. to 11p.m. The first segment was the coronation ceremony at the Murphy Fine Arts Center. The second segment was the coronation ball at the university’s student center ballroom.
The Ceremony continued with the introductions of the Mister and Miss Campus organizations, which featured: the Caribbean Student Association, ROTC, Lacrosse club, African Student Association and more. Mister and Miss representatives for the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes stood onto the stage and waved to the crowd.
Introductions ended with when Mister Morgan and Benny the Bear — Morgan’s mascot — arrived on stage in an black Mercedes-Benz G-class SUV and Miss Morgan arrived in a barouche.
The coronation ball followed the ceremony and was where friends and family celebrated coronating Mister and Miss Morgan. The Mister and Miss of the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classes lead the way as Mister and Miss Morgan made a grand entry into the ballroom.
As everyone entered the ballroom, two metal detectors flanked everyone entering — one on each side of both entrances — and a police officer stood beside metal detector.
Morgan Blair, a sophomore multimedia journalism major also minoring in political science, said the disorderly crowd in the auditorium triggered memories from last year’s homecoming — she had been outside initially and ran to the auditorium after the shooting started.
“At first, I felt safe, I saw the metal detectors as I was coming in but then going into the auditorium was when it got a bit chaotic,” said Blair. “Everyone was pushing each other and it sort of took me back to the fight that occurred during homecoming last year.”
Attendees passed through the metal detectors as they entered the ballroom and officers directed them where to go. Once part of the venue reached capacity, police guided guests to another level where more seats were available.
Several coronation guests said they felt safer this year when compared to last year’s homecoming.
“I felt safer this year even though I felt nervous going into it since I did see a lot more police than I saw last year … It just felt like they were more put together and the plan was more cohesive,” said Arnold.
Arnold also said she found Morgan sharing its security plan reassuring.
“It made me feel better,” said Arnold. “They sent out the security plan a week ahead so I knew what to expect and I saw the plan was executed today so I’m very satisfied.”
Information regarding Morgan’s security plan during homecoming activities is available on the university website.
