Many comb the grass with magnets to ensure that no screws from the dance floor are left behind. Rakes catch discarded cups. Because the refreshment centers are in different locations Friday and Saturday night, electricians shift the lighting that highlights those areas. Again Sunday and Monday, workers return in the early hours. Only the sound system, tables and chairs are provided by outside vendors.
P reparing the campus for the four-day ceremonial event begins weeks in advance.
After students move out of their dorm rooms, custodial crews scour about 3,000 rooms in preparation for alumni who will attend reunion. The crews polish floors, paint, replace torn shades, and fit linens onto beds. Electric candles are placed in each window of University Hall, to be lit Friday evening and not turned off again until Monday, after the ceremonies conclude. Groundskeepers seed and fertilize campus greenery, mow the lawns and prune the bushes. Student workers bolster the crew and help plant new flowerbeds with plants that have been cultivated in a greenhouse on campus.