The tradition of Homecoming Queen has been around for years. Homecoming is a custom that brings the student body together when they come back to school after a long summer break. 

Many have argued crowning a Homecoming Queen has become harmful in the past few years. Some state it is a popularity contest or a vote based purely on looks. When delving deeper, the idea that Homecoming is more than just a vote but rather an important part of the school’s morale becomes apparent. 

Homecoming welcomes students to the school, whether it is freshman year or senior year. Many students use Homecoming as a milestone. This especially applies to freshmen as it is often the first school dance they will be involved in at high school. Looking back at first school dances can show how far a person has come. Many people have different friends, styles and personalities when comparing their first dance to their last. First dances can also be a gateway to building friendships and relationships. They can help students build confidence and invite new people into their group or even ask someone to go with them on a date. From there, relationships can bloom and even last years. 

When focusing on school spirit, Homecoming week is one of the most noticeable times when school spirit is at its highest. School brings everyone back after a long break, and people are looking for a way to celebrate with all the back-in-school excitement. Homecoming week brings out the best in people with regard to school spirit. Whether it is with dress-up days or fun events such as Games Night, there are always students participating. Students use Homecoming week as a way to cheer on the candidates and show them support. Without the crowning of a queen or king, there would be no week of fun celebrations or activities.

Homecoming promotes football games in general but focuses on the Homecoming game. Focusing on one specific game excites the student body. The distinct part of the Homecoming game is the alumni who are brought along with it. Homecoming is a monumental event that reaches outside of the school and gets the community involved. Alumni attend the game to watch and cheer on their old school team. The inclusion of alumni is a definite example of how Homecoming is more than just a school event but a community one as well. 

The most memorable part of the game is the announcement of the Homecoming winner. People cheer in the bleachers. For this specific night, the queen or king is the big star and the main event. Many alumni and students would not be as thrilled if there was no big announcement of the Homecoming Queen or King. 

Homecoming is also a great way to give to communities. One of the main focal points of Homecoming is the money raised for charities. The candidates get to pick a charity they all want to raise money for. This year, the chosen charity was Mending Hearts Animal Rescue. Candidates can put their effort forward, but students and other community members can also donate to their choice of candidate and help them raise money for that charity. This helps the school give back to the community through a fun event. This year Homecoming earned over $8 thousand which was used for the chosen charity, supplies and scholarships. 

The Homecoming Queen is also one of the students the student body chooses to represent the school. This person is actively involved in extracurricular activities, but she/he also needs to have an impact on the students. People won’t vote for someone they don’t like, and this is what makes the winner the best choice. Whoever ends up winning gets a majority of the votes, along with other criteria. That meant an abundant amount of students were in favor of having this person be the Homecoming Queen and represent the school.

Many students argue that Homecoming is somewhat of a popularity contest. However, many other factors, besides social standing, go into deciding who becomes queen. All candidates for Homecoming Queen or King need to be involved in an extracurricular activity for at least a year prior to running. In addition, they must be chosen by their club and earn the highest number of points. These points are earned from a student vote but also from having their team dress up on the theme days, having a certain number of supporters come to the events, donating water for the dance and how well they place in games night. The person with the most points then wins their crown. All of this shows how thorough the process of becoming Homecoming Queen is, and how it’s more than just a vote of who the student body likes the most.

When looking at the full picture, it’s clear that there is much more to Homecoming than a simple popularity vote. The effort that goes into assembling this event takes time from the Homecoming staff and the candidates. It’s unfair to give Homecoming a broad generalization of a popularity contest when it simply isn’t one.