Changes within homecoming court
Administration works to add inclusive measures into homecoming court
photo by Hagerty Leadership
Junior homecoming court was announced on leadership’s instagram. This post was made on Monday 10/18.
Homecoming court announcements on Monday were different than normal.
Leadership held a meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 10 to discuss the new policies implemented for homecoming court.
Nominees and standards for who could run for homecoming court changed to allow for more inclusiveness and flexibility. The winners of each class are based on the two students with the most votes regardless of gender, and students get to decide who their escort is during the game, as well as their title. Winners can go by “royalty,” “prince,” “princess,” or other titles of their choosing.
“[This] came from our student government leaders – they were the ones that made the plan and presented it to us, and we made some modifications along the way,” Principal Robert Frasca said. “We feel that this is a step in the right direction to give every student on this campus a fair chance to be out there and to be represented for who they are.”
Senior Mackenzie Perkins, who is a part of the homecoming court lineup this year, plans on going by the title “queen” and already has her escort picked out.
“I’m going with my date because he’s also on homecoming court,” Perkins said. “[Being a part of the lineup] has made this school year special because I made a lot of new friends, and it’s fun to be able to do something like that with other people.”
Many other students are utilizing these implementations, in hopes to see changes involving inclusiveness in the future.
Junior court princesses Gwenevieve Shaw and Alexis Cunningham proved how these changes have come into play. Shaw and Cunningham were happy to know that they were able to run together as a couple thanks to the new rules.
“I was really excited about [these changes] because it allowed me and Lexi to run together,” Shaw said. “I think it sets a great precedent for making Hagerty a more inclusive place for all its students.”
Being able to know that a community was coming together to make this happen made this moment a lot more special for Shaw.
“I had hoped we would [win], but I knew that not everyone at Hagerty is as accepting as one would hope,” Shaw said. “So the fact that we won despite that was really an amazing feeling, and it was good to know we have the support of our peers.”
In the end, these changes were made to make Hagerty an overall safe place for its students.
“I want to make all of our students comfortable, so we had to find a way that was fair to everybody,” Frasca said.
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