Since the 1930s, schools across America have been doing a Homecoming Court every year- and Collinsville is no exception. As some students may have noticed, there was no court voting this year, so no King or Queen was crowned. Students are wondering- what happened to this tradition? Will it come back?
The choice to remove 2024 Homecoming Court was not an easy one, and it came about for many reasons. Mr. Gordon states, “ rapid decline in students wanting to be on Homecoming Court,” is the main cause. He says, “Nominations were getting harder and harder to get from clubs and sports teams. And once the official votes were taken for each class, the number of people voting has declined dramatically over the last four years.” Mr. Gordon also explains, ”Students not following through on the commitment they make when asking for their name to be placed on the ballot, in turn, makes it very hard to have a complete court representing each class in a timely manner.” Students would often drop their roles on court if their friend or romantic partner did not win the vote too. This is a new issue that used to be much less common and is confusing to many.
“ I feel that the honor that students used to feel to be on the court has faded and I am moving towards creating a different version of Homecoming Court/Kahok Royalty that will be more than a popularity contest and will restore the honor of being chosen to represent one’s class and Collinsville High School as a whole.”-Kyle Gordon
There is still hope for court nominations to come back, even as early as this spring semester! Mr. Gordon optimistically states,” I am not closing the door permanently on it. I am trying to create something new for next year or possibly as early as the Valentine’s Day Dance in February. I want to see how this plays out and talk with students and staff to get their input…”