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I stared at my newly acquired orange Converse shoes in my closest recently. I have been patiently waiting to get them out and wear them proudly during Dodgeville's Homecoming Week Oct. 3-8.
As I stared at them, I reflected on my days in school and getting to celebrate Homecoming. I remembered the dress up days, the pep rally, the parade. What I remembered least was the dance, and who exactly was on the Homecoming court all those years ago.
While I was driving to work last week, a news story aired on how students at a Green Bay high school would be eliminating Homecoming court this year in an effort to be more inclusive. Although not all students were happy about the change, I saw positivity in it.
In eliminating the Homecoming court, district administrators eliminated an ever alive popularity contest that is becoming Homecoming King or Queen. By eliminating the Homecoming court, everyone attending the dance could consider themselves worthy of being King or Queen. An area would be set up at the dance with a crown and tiara, and couples are encouraged to put them on for photo ops, which I thought was a fun way to encourage that everyone can be the King or Queen during Homecoming.
Some say that eliminating the tradition of a Homecoming court (and King and Queen) is wrong, but who says just because it's been that way for so long means that it is right. The elimination is not permanent, school officials have said, and I look forward to hearing feedback as to how the whole thing played out.
Sure, there were some students (and parents) who likely freaked, but it makes me wonder...Why does being King or Queen or being on the Homecoming court mean so much to them?
If only they could step into my (older) shoes, and look back on Homecoming like I did recently, and realize how small and insignificant being on the Homecoming court really is in the grand scheme of things.