Mister and Miss FAMU at the homecoming concert. (Ashley Bigbee/FAMUAN)
The week of Oct. 13 through Oct. 19 promised non-stop entertainment, networking opportunities and celebration of Florida A&M University’s history. Current FAMU students and alumni got to engage with star-studded panels, concerts and block parties throughout the week.
Across multiple social media platforms, posts regarding the festivities of FAMU’s 2025 Homecoming labeled it as the Greatest Homecoming On Earth. The use of the term is now creating conversation amongst the HBCU community.
GHOE was popularized by alumni and current students of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University referencing their homecoming. For many years, when GHOE was mentioned, it directly correlated to NCAT’s homecoming week.
This year brought a clear change to that, with the hashtags #ghoe and #therealghoe being widely used by FAMU students. The abrupt adoption of the term for FAMU’s standards begs to question which school has the right to claim their homecoming superior.
Now, a quick search of GHOE on social media will bring up results of NCAT and FAMU students’ videos and pictures. Not many NCAT students or alumni have commented on this emergence, but FAMU stands strong in its claim that it is the “real GHOE” or the “new GHOE.”
Janya Greene, a second-year biomedical engineering scholar, compared FAMU 2025 Homecoming events page and the official NCAT 2025 Homecoming events page. She noted similarities and differences between the two lineups, ultimately deciding that FAMU’s lineup offered more variety.
“I think I would prefer the FAMU lineup, actually,” Greene said. “Just looking at it, they just have more opportunities and more stuff to do.”
Keauna Palmer, a second-year pre-mechanical engineering scholar, had a different stance. She said NCAT’s homecoming is consistent with its events, living up to the label of GHOE.
“I would go to NCAT’s,” Palmer said, after considering both schools’ official lineups. “Every year, NCAT is GHOE.”
Admittedly, both schools have things in common with their weeklong homecoming lineup of events. The official 2025 homecoming websites for both FAMU and NCAT list a fashion show taking place on Tuesday, a step show on Friday, and a gospel concert on Sunday, to name a few.
Nonetheless, due to things like location, school spirit, history, and tradition, every HBCU’s homecoming harbors a different feeling. One can argue that every HBCU claims that its homecoming is simply the best.
Despite competitive banter between HBCUs, they still support each other. Every HBCU is unified by their rich history built on supplying education to black people by black people. Though the argument of the best homecoming is subjective, the importance of the annual celebrations of HBCU’s speaks for itself.