Issue 1

September 27th, 2019

Homecoming is a celebration that has been around for over a century, consisting of spirit week, the homecoming football game, hall decorating, and most anticipated, homecoming court elections. However, this year Rose has taken a different approach to the way the court is organized.

In the past, the titles included Homecoming Queen, King, Princess and Mr. and Mrs. School Spirit. This year, the process and titles are looking a little different.

Juniors and underclassmen were able to run for Rose Royals court while Seniors were able to run to be a Rowdy Royal, similar to Homecoming King and Queen.

There will be two Senior Rowdy Royals and two Rose Royals for each of the other grade levels. The amount of students on the court will be twice as many as years past.

Nominees this year were required to have a minimum of a 2.0 grade point average. They must also have been involved at school, either in a club or sports team,and participated in homecoming hall decorating.

Photo by William Nuckolls

These rules have been controversial among students. Junior Takyla Blount believes that last year’s were better and that the new rules are unfair.

“I think [the new rules] are pretty crazy,” Blount said. “You have to be passing all your fall classes, and you need to be a part of a school organization.”

Another hotly debated change was the lack of Mr. and Mrs. school spirit, a court position that has always been a part of Homecoming. The title of Mr. and Mrs. School Spirit was previously rewarded to the most passionate, dedicated and spirited Rose students.

Blount intended to run for the title of Junior Royal Rampant, but due to complications with her grades, she was ineligible. She managed after getting her grade up to be able to run.

Student Government Association (SGA) was in charge of planning homecoming and organizing the school decorating that took place on Sunday, Oct. 12, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

SGA Advisor Luisa Haynes believes the changes will ensure that those who are running are actively involved in the Rose community.

“People wanted to run for homecoming… [but] they weren’t really doing anything in giving back to the school,” Haynes said.

Haynes believes that adding more roles to the Homecoming court will improve attendance and reward deserving students.

“It’s just a way to reward people's hard work and make it a larger celebration,” Haynes said.

With homecoming week lasting 3.5 days, it was uncertain whether students would participate throughout the week.

The game was a big celebration for not only the Homecoming court but also for the seniors' last home game. The seniors were celebrated prior to their game during the walkout.

Homecoming was senior night, and the last home game of the year, so it was expected to have a large turnout.

“It’s not a hard sell, people are [going to] come,” Haynes said.

There were many different outlooks on how homecoming would have gone, but as it was every year, a successful event.