By Allison Benne
White leather pants usually don''t hang in the lobby windows of Chipman Hall.
But they will Homecoming weekend as part of an on-campus housing window-decorating contest.
The sponsor, BYU Alumni Association, hopes to involve freshmen in Homecoming weekend, said Nancy Carson, the director of Alumni Relations.
The contest, a BYU tradition since the 50s, returns after a five or six-year hiatus, she said.
Students will decorate dorm windows according to the Homecoming theme, 'Shades of Yesterday.'
That''s where the leather pants come in -- the residents of the 3200 floor of Chipman Hall will decorate using a 70s theme.
The 3200 floor windows will boast the phrases ''Groovy Baby'' and ''Saturday Night Fever'' amid tie-dye and flowers.
The floor was going for an Austin Powers and John Travolta motif, said floor president Jen Connery, 18, a freshman from Coeur d''Alene, Idaho majoring in elementary education.
Connery said she was excited for the return of the tradition, as it involves her and other freshmen in Homecoming weekend.
She said she also believes the excitement will spread to everyone else on campus.
'You don''t have to be in the dorms,' she said. 'You can walk by, and you just know everyone has spirit.'
The mens'' dorms, however, haven''t caught the Homecoming spirit as much as female dorms.
'Just from what I know about girls at BYU in general, they''ll always be more excited about stuff like this,' said Sam Cosby, 18, a freshman from Dallas, majoring in biochemistry.
Budge Hall, where Cosby is a floor president, is still in the early planning stages of their decorating. The hall hasn''t decided on any particular decorations, he said.
Carson said she hopes the lack of participation among some students will change in future years. The association would like the tradition to once again become a major part of Homecoming week.
In the past, the tradition was the outward sign of students'' Homecoming spirit, she said.
To do this, next year''s decorations will be up the entire week prior to Homecoming, not just the weekend, Carson said.