Homecoming Court too conventional
In 2013, the Rice Homecoming Court consisted of three students, two squirrels and one Dean Hutch. Since then, the court has had zero squirrels, zero faculty members and only students. In essence, the Rice Homecoming Court now resembles your high school court.
Rice is not a place that should have a typical homecoming court, and history agrees with me. The “traditional” Homecoming Court of actual students was first abandoned in 1941, when the Rice community nominated “the masters' spouses and children, a cat, a toad, an iguana, a saint, a car and a former Texas governor” for homecoming queen. Subsequent winners have been St. Arnold’s Centennial Ale (2011), Hurricane Ike (2008) and the Creature of the Black Lagoon (1978). A non-traditional court is tradition at Rice.
The issue with our current system of homecoming court is that it is so “Un-Rice.” The Rice identity is a quirky one, and our court should reflect that. No matter how you spin it, a homecoming court is a popularity contest, and it reduces our community identity. I’ve always been encouraged at Rice to try something different, which this “traditional” court is not.
I urge the Homecoming Committee to reconsider the current process for Homecoming Court. As a community, Rice is weird, and our court should reflect that. Homecoming is a time for Rice to celebrate the year, and honor what makes Rice Rice. My personal Homecoming King and Queen this year are “Crisis Against Cheer Battle” and “SB#4.”
Shelby Kuhn is a Wiess College senior.
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