tl20081006-01 "Nick DiMarco Senior Editor All eyes were on Towson�s golden boy Michael Phelps for the Parade of Gold on Saturday. The procession advanced south along York Road, beginning at Burke Avenue and ending at the Drumcastle Government Center. Phelps, who grew up in Rodgers Forge and attended Towson High School, won an Olympic-record eight gold medals in Beijing in August. Other medal winning swimmers in the parade were Towson resident Katie Hoff, who takes classes and is an assis-tant swim coach at Loyola College, and Jessica Long, a Paralympic world record setter. �I came out because [the Student Government Association] really was pushing for students to come out and see the Parade of Gold, to support the 2008 Olympians for all their hard work, and because Michael Phelps is beautiful,� Asya Henriquez, SGA sena-tor, said. Thousands of onlookers, including community members, Towson students, faculty, staff and local celebrities, lined the streets along the border of the University and beyond in anticipation for the most decorated Olympian of all time. Preceding Phelps in the line of Baltimore flair were the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, Batman and Robin, a bevy of local high school bands, Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, Ravens cheerlead-ers, The Oriole Bird, and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. �It�s something that is a really big part of Towson�s history. This is some-thing that everybody who goes here will remember forever, whether you�re a freshman just starting out or a senior about to grad-uate,� Lauren McDade, an SGA sena-tor, said. �It�s a really cool way to bring the Olympics home. So many of us were excited to watch his-tory be made over the summer. Then to have it hit home a little more, literally �hit home,� it kind of ties in with the Homecoming theme.� Fans waved to Hoff as she passed by in a classic white Mercedes convertible. Members of Phi Mu descended upon Debbie Phelps requesting autographs as she drove by in a classic black Lincoln Continental. Now on TheTowerlight.com: View Homecoming themed video Word on the Street and comment on stories... Monday www.thetowerlight.com FREE Published by Baltimore Student Media for the Towson University Community Phans flock to Phelps parade Photos by Blake Savadow/The Towerlight Left, Olympic gold medalist and record holder Michael Phelps waves to his hometown fans along York Road Saturday during the Parade of Gold. Above, Baltimore residents turned out by the thousands to support the Towson native that has received national and international attention. Hometown heroes Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff honored on York Road Watch video and check out a photo slideshow of the Parade of Gold online at TheTowerlight.com See GOLD, page 8 The Towerlight Oct. 6, 2008 T-Pain sells out Towson Center Arts, page 16 Students discuss �State of Diversity� News, page 7 "
