Viking Days: A week of pride
For freshmen, it’s the beginning. For seniors, the finale. And for alumni, a return to where it all began. It’s Viking Days — a week of blue and gold, late-night laughter, campus traditions and crowds coming together to celebrate what it means to be a Viking.
The week-long celebration, which started Sept. 22, was the culmination of planning that began in the spring. Junior Emma Knott, a member of the Viking Days committee, said that the group worked to balance popular traditions with new features.
One addition was a dunk tank at Monday’s Kickoff, where students paid $1 or donated a nonperishable food item in exchange for three attempts to plunge the royals into the tank. All proceeds and donations went to the Campus Cupboard. Students also received tickets for food from Breaking Burrito or Backyard BBQ along with snow cones and soda made by Augie Brew and Gold.
“We had over 400 people coming through, which was double the participation from last year,” Knott said.
Royal court nominees were announced following the preliminary round of student voting. Senior Sami Bendix said she was surprised when she and her best friend, Mallorie Schultz, were pulled aside after their research methods lab and given macaroons to notify them of he honor.
Bendix said sharing the experience with friends made it even more special.
“It was really fun that Mallorie and I got to do it together,” Bendix said. “That almost just made it more exciting because it gets to be a whole week of special events with all of my favorite people, and [we] get to celebrate together.”
The celebration peaked Wednesday night when seniors Alex Folgar and Gabi Rabboni were crowned Viking Days royalty at the coronation in the Elmen Center.
For Rabboni, the moment she was crowned was a whirlwind of emotion.
“I’m so excited. I’m still crying a little bit,” Rabboni said. “I had a friend FaceTiming my family from back home, and now all the pictures, the hugs — I think that means the world to me.”
Rabboni, an international student from Brazil, recalled arriving on campus feeling hesitant and barely knowing English, but she credited the welcoming community with helping her find her place.
Now she is paying that welcome forward with her social media posts, which helped inspire seven new Brazilian students to enroll at Augustana this year.
For Folgar, the honor affirmed his feeling of connection to the university.
“I love this campus so much, and I love the people that go here with my whole heart, so it means a lot that people think the same about me,” he said. “It’s a big honor, and I don’t take it lightly.”
While his favorite part of the week — the royalty song — has already passed, he is looking forward to closing the week by singing with the Augustana Choir at the Viking Days Worship Service Sunday morning.
Before the end of the week on Sunday, Saturday is dedicated to some of the week’s most anticipated events.
The day’s main events begin with a free Pancake Feed in Morrison Commons at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Viking Days Parade at 10:30 a.m. along Grange Avenue and the 1 p.m. football game against Winona State.
