Following the election of the first Homecoming king, consideration of electing both a queen and king, rather than a single royal, was brought into the conversation. On Jan. 27, students were sent a survey to collect their stance on the topic.
Should the Homecoming election process be changed, students would be able to vote for both a Homecoming King and Queen. At the Homecoming football game, both would be crowned and the first runners-up for each would be recognized. In comparison, the game currently crowns one royal and recognizes both the first and second runners-up. What will remain the same is the nomination process. Regardless of if the election is changed, clubs will still be able to nominate one candidate each: a queen or king.
The Homecoming election process should be changed in favor of crowning both a Queen and King. This would promote highlighting more students and reduce the hostility of the competition. Furthermore, this would remove the stigma of the competition, as adding more opportunity to the competition for the crown will likely lead to more boys running.
The Homecoming royal represents the student body. They are both an elected representative, but also garner points through creativity and tapping into the interests of the student body. However, it is impossible to have one person represent a whole school, especially one as massive and diverse as Altoona. Though the full student body still wouldn’t be entirely captured, having two representatives would allow for the opportunity to have a greater portion of them represented in the Homecoming royals.
Currently, the competition for the Homecoming crown is very tight. Often, campaigning for one’s preferred candidate can lead to other candidates being brought down in the process. Should two candidates be crowned, the hostility of the competition could be lightened, promoting more friendly competition between the candidates.
This year, as competition was opened to the first nominated king, talk about a guy running in a typically female-dominated competition often turned derogatory. This highlighted the stigma of the competition for male candidates. Encouraging guys to run and promising a crown to one of them would make reception of those men who run more positive, thus reducing the stigma.
Ultimately, the move to crown both a queen and king as Homecoming royalty is one that should succeed, as it would make for a more healthy student body.
