HOCO: Homecoming (HOCO): the Fast Death of UNB Parties

Thomas Lepper, Joel rumson

Here at the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton (UNBF) every September 21st there is an event called Homecoming. More commonly known as HOCO. 

HOCO occurs during UNB football’s first home game for the fall season. This year in 2024, the game took place at the BMO centre, UNBF. The UNB Bombers won against the Saint John Falcons by a whopping 51-7. The stadium was packed, there were people screaming in a mixture of celebration over UNB being winning and of being drunk. 

The UNB cheerleading team was performing before the game, hoisting their pom-poms high to the beat of the drums, cheering students who stood brave enough to prepare for the impending war.

However, when talking with students at campus, some did not know HOCO was even about the football team. For most people, HOCO – is about the parties. 

There were people partying across Mclaggon Hall on Windsor to Kitchen street, mostly dressed in the UNB colours – Red and Black. 

While there is no specific time these events start, according to people asked, there were parties going from nine in the morning and some people were drinking from 8:30 am onward. At 10:30 am, there were people by Aberdeen street who had tally marks on their arm for every beer they drinken. One guy even had three rows of tallies and two tally additional marks, equaling out to 17 drinks.

I saw him repeatedly from then on until I left at 11:00 pm.

Typically, the street with the most parties is Graham Avenue, because not only are there house parties, but people will gather into large groups in the street drinking, smoking weed and cigarettes, playing music and just having a good time. In the fall of 2022, there was even a DJ on the street with turntables and speakers. Playing music for everyone to hear – honestly – it was a great time. 

However, this year, according to multiple accounts, Graham Avenue parties were shut down due to noise complaints before 10:00 am. Though, when I arrived around 1:00 pm, the street was empty and the only noise was from private parties in the student’s backyard. 

While this was a shame to have such a traditional UNB party spot to shut down. The street parties did continue. Before 3:30 pm at the latest, there was a group of people stretched along Hanson street, partying outside and in, until 1:00 am. 

This did not last long…For the entire day, the police had been shutting down parties. 

The first one I witnessed was on Albert street at 3:08 am when an officer arrived at a house party, the officer instructed anyone who was not inside the house or a renter of the property to leave the premises. Then, the officer talked to the renters and took them aside to talk to them. 

When I asked them what the police officer said, one of the renters stated “He is shutting us down due to a noise complaint and it’s only 3 f*cking o’clock!”. I then asked for his contact information to interview on a day I could guarantee he was sober but when messaged, he never responded. 

This same story happens again and again. Every party that dared to have people on their lawn were shut down by the police. All claiming noise “complaint”. There was even one house on Graham that had five people outside sitting down drinking and they were talked to by the police. 

It should be mentioned that parties that happened in backyards to my knowledge, were not shut down. Rather, it was clear police were only going in and shutting down parties in the driveways and that were visible from the street. Implying they either did not want to shut down the parties in people’s backyard or what is more likely, they could not. As well, some people like previously mentioned were just a group of friends sitting down having a couple beers. One group at the foot of Windsor street by Maclaggan Hall. They were just playing on their guitar. Sitting in their house drinking beers. 

Some students may not remember, or were not here in fall of 2022, but HOCO back then was different. 

Maybe it was because people were sick of Covid, maybe some wanted to experience University and maybe others just wanted to burn couches.All I know, is unlike this year – where just Graham to Kitchen street was packed – in 2022, every block was flooded with people. Drinking, blasting music, even racing shopping carts down the hill. At one point someone even tried to drive through the crowd of people, and consequently had a beer can thrown at their car.

Next it will only be a half the street, then a quarter, and then no one. 

I am not saying partying all together would stop, but, the street parties will. The street parties where a random person can just walk to ask for a beer and strike up a conversation with a stranger will be gone. And for many of us who do not know people who own houses where we can party, it means an essential part of University life will be gone.