As part of the introduction to Homecoming week, students can vote for Homecoming Court on their portal until Friday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m.
The Office of Student Involvement and Student Government Association coordinate the court nominations and will announce winners at the Homecoming football game against West Texas A&M on Oct. 21.
According to Ruby Arriaga, coordinator of student activities, the Homecoming budget was cut because of the campus wide budget shortfall announced earlier this semester.
“It’s going to seem like a big chunk of money, because it is, but the budget for Homecoming is about $26,000 this year,” Arriaga said. “That is used for all the events throughout the week. For Homecoming Court, we haven’t hit $100 yet, but that’s not including the flowers or crowns yet, so I’m going to guess it’ll be about $200.”
Voting opened Sunday night, Arriaga said there have been at least 70 votes casted so far, and there are still two days of voting left.
“We are getting high involvement, and everyone seems to come together when there are hardships, so with everything happening this semester, people are taking it to heart and coming together,” Arriaga said. “They are getting involved because it’s fun, and they are collecting donations for the hurricane victims and attending the memorial for Robert Grays. A lot of students are experiencing anxiety right now, and they are coming to help with that.”
Last year, Lauren Gardner, biology sophomore, was nominated for and won sophomore duchess.
“I had found out that I was nominated for sophomore duchess through the email they sent out, and I checked banner because I was confused and it turns out I’m at 57 hours,” Gardner said. “No one has said anything to me about it except that they are excited and wish me luck. It’s just an honor to run again.”
According to Samantha Treviño, psychology senior and chair of the board of election for SGA, said this does not violate the SGA bylaws or Homecoming Court regulations; however, Arriaga said they will re-evalutate and check over the winners before they officially announce the winners.
“At first we hadn’t realized she had won last year, but she did not meet the requirements to be classified as a junior,” Treviño said. “She’s obviously popular enough to get nominated again, and there is common confusion for college students pertaining to hours.”
Winners for freshman through junior will be announced on Oct. 13, but the senior king and queen will be announced at the football game half-time. The top two from each category will join the court on the field to hear the winners announced.
“This is a tradition that has been going on for a really long time, and it’s a tradition students engage and vote in,” Arriaga said. “I was looking back at pictures from the ‘80s, and the excitement is just so present.”
*Asterisk and italics indicate names that were or are misspelled on the portal ballot.
Freshman Lady
- Bailie Shelton, pre-nursing
- Jordan Harwell, early childhood***
- Julie Kelley, business
- Kaylee Rhine, pre-nursing
Freshman Lord
- Braxton Urioste, pre-nursing
- Kale Hutchins, business
- Luis Gonzalez, engineering
- Payton Tranum, business
Sophomore Duchess
- Breanna Dewoody, pre-nursing
- Joanne Ortega, mass communication
- Lauren Gardner, biology
- Lily Greeno, special education
Sophomore Duke
- Dalton Roehling, criminal justice
- Imran Kurani, political science
- Riley Low, criminal justice
- Seth Sharritt, mechanical engineering
Junior Princess
- Alicen Conyers, nursing
- Rachael Miyahara, interdisciplinary English arts
- Sarah Wood, marketing
- Sydney Bateman, early childhood
Junior Prince
- Austen Lange, sophomore history
- Craig Dublin, mechanical engineering
- Jeffrey Hamon, exercise physiology
- Tyler Manning, mass communication
Senior Queen
- Maranda Rodriguez, early childhood
- Jaylon Williams, sociology
- Dierrica Smith, mass communication***
- Maia Cook, athletic training
Senior King
- Juan Mercado, sociology
- Lesroy James, marketing
- Austin Leveridge, finance
- Alec DiValerio, exercise physiology***
