Hours after the Homecoming planning committee voted on this fall’s slogan, committee members began rethinking their decision to make the theme for Homecoming week “Shell shock the Terps.”

The slogan was selected in reference to the football team’s Nov. 7 match-up with the Maryland Terrapins, but concerns over the use of the term shell-shock have led the committee to reconsider its slogan choice.

“After it was announced a number of people came up concerned about the use of the term shell shock,” Adam Compton, chair of the Homecoming planning committee, said. “We were thinking shells like Terrapins and shocking them, but others were concerned about its meaning in relation to post-traumatic stress disorders in the aftermath of war.”

Kendall Brobst, a member of the Homecoming committee and a sophomore in psychology, said there were concerns about going with another armed forces theme this year even before the term shell-shock was called into question. Last year’s theme, “Take out Boston College,” brought about many war-like details during Homecoming week, including floats resembling tanks and fighter jets, and use of camouflage in paintings, advertisements, and the parade.

“We would have used a lot of the same themes as we did last year,” Brobst said. “Most of the floats had something to do with war.”

Brobst said while going with the voted upon theme may have led to repetitiveness during Homecoming week, the real issue with the theme was in the wording.

“Everyone was fine with it last night until they thought about it and found [shell shock] wasn’t the best term to use,” Brobst said. “The theme is not so much the controversy as is the term shell shock.”

Compton, a senior in agricultural business management, said the committee knew it was important to pick a new theme immediately upon hearing concerns about the slogan.

“We’re a nation at war and we need to think about those things,” Compton said. “So when that came up we decided it would be better to pick a new Homecoming theme and readdress things.”

Compton and Brobst said instead of the committee choosing a new slogan, there will be a contest to see which student can come up with the best Homecoming theme.

“We’ll pick the top theme and that will be the theme for next year and the winnner wil get a prize,” Compton said.

Brobst said she wasn’t sure when the contest results would be announced, but expects to have the final slogan approved by the end of May.