Head -to-Head: Gender-Neutral Homecoming Court Turns Heads

From the university’s inception in 1894 through the fall of 2017, MSU elected a homecoming court in the traditional way: one man wins the position of homecoming king and one woman wins homecoming queen. There were never two men or two women elected, even if they were the most qualified to represent the university. The voting was based solely on how many and which people you knew, how much Patagonia you owned, whether or not you shredded, if you could tele-ski. Sure, this way of voting is traditional, but also wildly close-minded. Homecoming royalty was full of trendy Bozemanites rather than people who maybe looked different or had different interests but were serving the school to a far greater degree.

It wasn’t until September 2018 that student senators presented an idea to change the structure of the homecoming court at MSU. In the record of minutes from an ASMSU Student Government meeting held on Sept. 20, 2018, multiple student senators proposed the idea to change MSU’s homecoming court traditions to benefit the student body. One student suggested that the court change from a king and queen to “royalty” that best represent the campus. Another student added that this would be a great opportunity to create a tradition of respect and acceptance for the student body.

This conversation ignited change. The look of MSU’s homecoming court changed in October 2018. Our school now boasts three homecoming ambassadors each year, based on the platforms of involvement, leadership, and service. The winners, one on each platform, can be a combination of any gender- whoever the student body feels best represents them. Sure, last year we had only women representing each platform of royalty, but that’s not the point- the point is that it can be anyone and the genders of leadership can change every year based on the candidates offered. Some years there may be three strong women running, other years three strong men. We as the student body can be represented by only one gender if that is what we choose, but at least now there is a choice.

Prior to the election of the homecoming royalty, student candidates are nominated by a campus organization for one or more of the three election platforms. From there, the candidates highlight themselves and their time at MSU through their platforms and in their biographies on the homecoming website. This can take multiple forms, but typically the candidate will showcase their investment in student clubs and organizations, campus engagement, and service to the community.

Not utilizing the traditional homecoming court layout doesn’t make schools any less “American” or established. Rather, this new structure is a way for universities to rewrite history and create school environments that don’t make individuals or groups feel excluded while focusing on representing the school at whole and not just a niche group.

Other universities such as Michigan State, Purdue, Penn State, and Northwestern have also turned to this more gender-neutral practice of electing student representatives to a homecoming court. Cheers to all these universities for their celebrations of inclusivity and diversity.