Flipping out for homecoming Purple Pancakes

BY HELENA KNUTSON

Marketing Director

When it comes to homecoming events, Purple Pancakes may just take the cake. The long-standing tradition started in 1983 and has been thriving since.

Every year, Tarleton students eagerly await the famous Purple Pancakes. The tradition is so beloved that the line gets wrapped around the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center and ends just short of the Mayfield Engineering Building.

Mercedez Concepcion, a senior wildlife sustainability and ecosystem science major, arrived at Purple Pancakes early to try to beat the line.

“I knew from just previous years that the line for Purple Pancakes gets really crazy, so I decided for senior year I would try to get there early, and good thing I did,”  Concepcion said. “After the Yard Show ended, the line started to fill up, and it just kept getting longer the more the night went on.”

Purple Pancakes is an event put on by the Freshmen Representative Council, commonly known as the FRC.

Layla Dykes, a pre-nursing major, is a member of the FRC and was one of the workers who helped put on the event.

“FRC helps freshmen find their place, build connections and create friendships that last a lifetime. FRC provides a way for freshmen to get involved on campus and is also a branch of SGA, the Student Government Association,” Dykes said.

After creating their well-known aprons, members then pick times to help cook.

“Everyone signed up for times to cook the pancakes and basically started cooking from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.,” Dykes said.

Upon entering the building, students are greeted by a loud, enthusiastic crowd cheering for Purple Pancakes. Within the crowd were the famous Oscar P and the Plowboys, but more notable were FRC and student government members wearing hand-painted aprons, each representing a different Tarleton tradition.

“There’s a lot of prep that goes into Purple Pancakes. First, we have a lot of meetings to make sure everyone knows what we are doing. We also received an apron and had to paint the tradition we were assigned,” Dykes said.

After receiving their pancakes, students are encouraged to go outside to eat their pancakes and join the festivities. Outside the Tarleton dining hall, you'll find a DJ and a small open area for dancing.

One student who enjoyed her time on the dance floor was Emma Tisher, a junior business major.

“Line dancing is my favorite, so I will dance anytime,” Tisher said. “After eating my pancake, I had so much energy, and being able to dance it out with a bunch of my friends and fellow students was really fun. It was a great way to kick off my homecoming activities.”

When students receive their Purple Pancakes, they get a full midnight breakfast with sausage and eggs on the side. And while the deliciousness of the tradition certainly helps, it’s the legacy itself that makes it a homecoming staple and why the FRC continues to keep it alive and strong.