Plating homecoming tradition: Who’s behind Tarleton’s purple pancakes?

BY MACKENZIE JOHNSON / Multimedia Journalist

On the winner’s podium of Tarleton homecoming events, Purple Pancakes may just take the gold medal for being one of the most treasured traditions. 
At 10 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 8, the dining hall doors opened, designating the start of Midnight Breakfast. 

By 10:15, the line to get into the dining hall wrapped back between the Clyde H. Wells Fine Arts Center and the Joe W. Autry Agriculture building, to nearly the front entrance of the O.A. Grant building. 

A steady stream continued to pour into the dining hall until 12:15 a.m. on Wednesday Oct. 9, when the curtains for Purple Pancakes officially came to a close. 

Purple Pancakes is no stranger to loads of hungry college kids anxious to get their hands on the famed and carefully dyed pancakes, and although food is always a strong motivator for college kids, it still takes a special legacy to draw in such large attendance numbers. 

The tradition of Purple Pancakes on Tarleton’s homecoming week was born in 1983. The spot and time the pancakes, sausages and eggs are served to students has differed over the years, but the mission of raising Tarleton’s spirits on homecoming week has not. 

In fact, Midnight Breakfast may just be as big as it’s ever been, keeping Tarleton’s Student Government Association (SGA) up to their necks in pancake batter in the hours leading up to the event.  

SGA and more specifically the Freshman Representative Council (FRC), completely sponsor, organize, cook and serve up the purple pancakes in partnership with the food service company Sodexo. 

“FRC are students who love Tarleton and wanted to get involved as soon as they got to school,” Gabe Day, SGA student body president, said of the event coordinators. “They love putting on Purple Pancakes because they get to see new students work together to host a huge event and get to see how many students come to it.”

Day credits co-vice presidents of FRC Andre Archuleta and Lauren Rogers for primarily running the beloved event, and it’s certainly no cake walk. 

“There’s a lot that goes into running Purple Pancakes,” Archuleta said. “We had to figure out things like what time to cook pancakes, how many we would need, where to put stations to have the best flow of people… how to coordinate what time the DJ should be there, how to play the same music inside and outside and what equipment we needed. (We do) all of this while staying within our budget and making sure we give students the best possible event for the best possible price so we can plan more fun things for them throughout homecoming week and the semester.”

Having such prominent roles in the event allows the two co-presidents front row seats to the impact Purple Pancakes has on the FRC organization. 

“I love Purple Pancakes because it’s a great way to get all of the students together doing one of our favorite things - eating,” Rogers said. “It’s also a great team building exercise for the Freshman Representative Council and teaches them how to work under pressure and still have fun.”

That fun being had in the kitchen notably transfers over to those on the receiving end of the plates as students stick around to chat and dance long after they’ve finished their breakfast. 

“Purple pancakes is just all around fun,” Archuleta said. “Realistically most students are up between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. anyways studying or creating memories with their friends. Purple Pancakes is one of those events where you can just crawl out of bed with your PJs on, walk to the dinning hall and dance to some great music while getting a midnight snack with your friends.”

Maybe it’s the late hours or maybe it’s the sight of  University President Dr. James Hurley and First Lady Kindall Hurley in decorated aprons passing out pancakes, but something about Purple Pancakes’ authenticity may just be what makes it a staple Tarleton homecoming event. 

“Midnight breakfast has been an essential part of Tarleton’s homecoming for over 40 years now,” Rogers said. “It has become a symbol of tradition and something we all look forward to every year.” 

Preserving that symbol requires meticulous planning for FRC members long before the griddles are fired up on Tuesday afternoon.

Despite the labor of such diligent forethought, FRC members don’t doubt the importance of dedicating their energy into an event so rich with Tarleton pride, and lending a hand in creating a historic homecoming week at Tarleton makes it beyond worth it. 

“The most rewarding part of Purple Pancakes is seeing how many students show up to something that we prepared and make it even better with their presence,” Archuleta said. “We had close to 3,000 people in our first 30 minutes… It’s moments like those that reassure you how much of family Tarleton is. It makes me proud to be a Texan.”