October 6, 2025

by Liz Mendicino ‘26

Leaves changing colors, pumpkin spice wafting through the air and midterms right around the corner can mean only one thing at Ramapo College of New Jersey: Homecoming Weekend!

The jam-packed weekend was an opportunity to blend Ramapo history with fun and family on the college’s picturesque Mahwah, NJ campus.

The celebratory weekend – a collaboration between the Student Government Association (SGA), the Center for Student Involvement (CSI), and various college offices and groups – kicked off Thursday night with a pop-up trivia game show, where students competed to beat each other’s high scores to win prizes. Friday featured a celebration of Ramapo’s Founder’s Day and the Festival of Frights, leading up to the main event on Saturday with the Family Day Carnival and Dracula’s Disco that night.

Commemorating Founders’ Day

On Friday afternoon students, staff, faculty, retirees and alumni joined together to commemorate Founders’ Day – the day that Ramapo was officially established 56 years ago.

“That’s not that old. In fact, it’s really, really young, and we have a great legacy to build upon,” Ramapo President Dr. Cindy Jebb told the community gathered before her as she stood in front of the Havemeyer Arch on Ramapo’s welcoming campus.

Jebb, who took the reins of the college five years ago, said she was drawn to Ramapo because of the institution’s tremendous legacy. The college, founded in 1969, has a history of doing things that may not have been popular at the time, but were the right things to do, she said, like welcoming Vietnam veterans when nobody else would, and becoming disability-friendly before legislation required it. “I thought, what a phenomenal institution … Then I got to meet the students – and that’s when I really fell in love with the institution,” Jebb said.

James Pascal ‘26, Sarah Glisson ‘27, Liz Mendicino ’26 and President Jebb cut the Founders’ Day cake.

Among those gathered to celebrate Founders’ Day were Roadrunners from some of the college’s more than 100 student-run clubs. Jebb was joined in front of the Arch by three students, Ramapo Board of Trustees’ Student Trustee Sarah Glisson ‘27, SGA President Liz Mendicino ’26 and SGA Vice President James Pascal ‘26. Together, the four Roadrunners cut Ramapo’s birthday cake, while the crowd exclaimed, “Happy Birthday, Ramapo!”

Coming Together for Oktoberfest

The featured event, Saturday’s Oktoberfest Carnival, was truly a labor of love made possible by students and staff. More than just a tradition, the event is an integral part of the fall semester. The carnival typically hosts 700 to 800 people on Ramapo’s bandshell lawn, with inflatable races and games, pumpkin painting, food, free t-shirts and more.

Much of the planning for the carnival was conducted by SGA Secretary of Programming, Afrona Tozluku ‘26 and the CSI staff. “It’s the biggest and liveliest event that we have, you get to see families, students, and alumni all come together,” Tozluku said. “People are really excited for the pumpkins. It’s always a great time.”

Coordinator of Fraternities, Sororities, and Student Organizations Kriselle Bellini was happy to see the community unite. “I think I’m most excited to see alumni, families and students come together on such a beautiful day, all the activities we have and just see the spirit of Ramapo and the community come together,” Bellini said.

Oktoberfest featured pumpkin painting and family fun.

Eddie Seavers, associate director of the CSI, said the carnival is an example of the good things that can happen when campus groups work together. “I love the breadth of groups that work on homecoming,” Seavers said. “It’s coming from SGA, from CSI, from Student Success, volunteers from the Peer Facilitator Program, Institutional Advancement, Alumni Relations… it’s a great example of what happens when you have folks across campus working together.”

It’s not only those who coordinate the event that have a great passion for it, parents and guardians make their way to Ramapo year after year to visit their students and enjoy the day’s festivities. Oktoberfest brings families into the fold and gives them a glimpse into their students’ campus lives.

“I enjoy seeing my daughter. She doesn’t come home much because she enjoys her experience up here so much,” said Angela Bounds, mother of Desiree Bounds ‘26. “I like coming up here, spending time with her. The weather’s gorgeous today, and then I also get to see the impact she has on the people around her. So that’s the icing on the cake.”

For parents and guardians of underclassmen, the day can reassure them that their student has chosen the right school. “There are so many people out here. My favorite thing is walking and meeting people, everybody greets everybody,” said Cindy Michaelson, aunt of Jacob Vega ‘29. “Sitting at the table with people we don’t know, and everybody talks to everybody. It’s a great environment.”

Families gathered outside on Ramapo’s Mahwah, NJ campus.

Returning to Home Sweet ‘Po

Oktoberfest is also a weekend that brings alumni back home to campus. Whether they enjoyed the festivities of the carnival, visited the alumni reception, or took a tour of the renovated campus, it was a great opportunity to visit Home Sweet ‘Po.

“It’s always nice to come back here, it’s like a sense of community coming back to Ramapo, and it’s fun to see the campus and the fall was always my favorite part because it’s so pretty,” said Vivian Nisson-van Iperen ‘00, a policy analyst with United Nations Women. “It’s great to see the traditions and the values are still staying strong, it’s great to see all the current students… because you guys are doing really amazing work.” Nilsson-van Iperen felt nostalgic visiting the school, and was happy to hear about the ways in which students are still looking to make the world a better place.

The day was also an opportunity for recent alumni to visit, even if they haven’t been gone for too long. “I think for me, it’s primarily because Ramapo’s always going to be a home for me,” said Shanel Lopez ‘25. “I think since day one of me committing, it’s really been a place that’s accepted me, that has included me in every way possible, that has supported my growth and has been the foundation of my overall journey development as a person. So I’m just really grateful to be here.”

Homecoming weekend is one of the most unifying and heartwarming traditions at Ramapo, and a truly special time for students, faculty, staff, alumni, families and the community at large to come together. It is a time where everyone gets to come home to ‘po and celebrate together, and a testament to the incredible campus culture that never ceases to unite.

Roadrunners and their families celebrated with Rocky.