Roosevelt’s Homecoming Court Expansion
Anyone who has taken part in Roosevelt’s homecoming festivities knows how non-traditional they are. Our dance is informal and often has a funny theme, there are no big homecoming proposals (or really dates at all), and our homecoming court includes cribs and representation from all grades. The standard homecoming court for most schools would typically consist of a guy and a girl, usually seniors, who either run or are voted on by the rest of the school. Roosevelt, however, does things a little differently. We select a guy and girl from each grade to represent their class. These people are selected by having their name entered into a box outside of the ASR room, and the rest of the class votes on who they want to see become royalty at the assembly. At least that’s how they used to do it: this year, they are trying something new.
ASR has decided that Roosevelt is going to move away from its heteronormative homecoming tradition. Instead, students will vote on not two, but three of their peers to represent their class, and these students can be any gender. According to ASR member Josie Aydelott, the reasoning behind this is, “by doing three people, we completely eliminate the romantic aspect.” Roosevelt’s homecoming is not typically a romantic affair, and there is little expectation of any relationship between the queens and kings, but ASR wanted to take away any stigma that could form. Aydelott says, “in the past it’s been king and queen, prince and princess, and this year we didn’t want it to be queen and queen like now it’s a gay couple, we just want it to be people”. So by adding a new member of royalty to each grade, ASR intends to eliminate any pressure on the representatives. If it’s two guys, they don’t have to be seen as a gay couple, and if it is a guy and a girl, they don’t have to be seen as a straight couple, because they may not identify with that.
ASR is prepared for the potential backlash that might arise from the Roosevelt community. Aydelott commented, “we were worried about certain people hating it and thinking that it was changing too much too quick,” which is a possible reaction from part of the student population. People may see it as unnecessary since Roosevelt’s homecoming has never had a romantic aspect to it. Change can be hard, especially since the homecoming court tradition was a fan favorite. It is two big changes happening at once, but there is definite potential for it to be beneficial for the Roosevelt community. Students will be able to be elected as representatives without having to conform to pre-set roles or heteronormative expectations. Whether you agree with it or not, ASR is implementing it as the new homecoming court structure so be ready to cheer on your three representatives this year.
2017 Homecoming Court Results:
Seniors – Sam Wright, Jinji Amen, Ben Early
Juniors – Halle Erickson, Joe Cantrell, Gavyn Tomtan
Sophomores – Markus Teuton, Sam Sheynkman, Zoe Blume
Freshmen – Hailey Green, Jonah Goldberg, Beck Parsons
Photo By: Lauren Hensel
