In case you have not seen the banners all over campus, this week will be Suffolk University’s inaugural homecoming weekend. For many universities, this is a time, honored yearly tradition and it’s great to see Suffolk starting that tradition as well.

Some of the events set to take place are yearly staples like the Fall Fest Variety Show and several sporting events. Others like Suffolk After Dark and the Back to the Classroom sessions are new to the fall semester calendar. For a university that does not have a giant suburban campus, there will always be students who feel that Suffolk struggles with things like school spirit and unity. Homecoming is an effort on the university’s part to build on those two things.

Suffolk is a school that prides itself about being in the heart of Boston and that’s certainly a perk that many students enjoy. The issue that some find with the school’s location however is that students have so many other options to spend their time on that the campus can lack the togetherness that places like UMass, UVM and UNH have. Suffolk’s homecoming will take some time to reach feeling that those colleges’ homecomings bring about but this year is a good first step.

Some events on the university’s docket are a bit more intriguing than others but it is not a list that’s supposed to appeal to every single person. There are some that are clearly looking to target alumni or students’ parents visiting next weekend. Events like Seriously Bent’s show at 150 Tremont are obviously aimed more towards current students and more specifically underclassmen. That approach is certainly a fine one and there are efforts to see some overlap by event attendees like trivia night at The Red Hat and 150 Tremont for those that have not reached the legal drinking age.

Obviously, Suffolk’s homecoming is still very much a work in progress considering this is its first year of existence. The effort that has been put in is noticeable though and helps build upon a part of Suffolk that some might think is lacking.