Homecoming Court selection will now have a more intricate process.
Instead of relying on student votes alone, after nominations, a faculty panel now picks the final court selection and the student body chooses from their selection.
April Young, senior alumni and university relations officer, started working on changing the process last year and said this change was made to raise the standard of the Homecoming Queen title.
“We need to elevate the idea of Homecoming Court to a different standard to one that recognizes leader of our student body in a different way that puts more emphasis on leadership, on diversity, student organizations and their involvement,” Young said.
Every female senior in a student organization had an opportunity to be voted on by the members of their group. Those chosen members then had to submit an application along with a resume and essay questions.
Jenna Miles, Homecoming Queen nominee, said she agrees with the new system and it has worked well.
“There are really good leaders on our campus and names that I recognize, which means there are good leaders on campus,” Miles, senior music education major from Lilltfield, said.
After combing through the applications, 15 women were chosen for the court to be voted on by the student body.
The 2022 Homecoming Queen nominations are as follows:
A panel of faculty and staff is responsible for choosing the candidates.
“We’re still honoring senior women who are leaders; that hasn’t changed. We just want to highlight them in different ways,” Young said.
The Homecoming Queen will be given a $1,000 grant to start a university impact initiative. She will also be heavily involved with Alumni relations and other various events.
To be eligible for Homecoming Court, students must maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA and must be a current member of an organization. The student should also be in good standing with the university.
