Most schools across Texas traditionally celebrate homecoming; it revives school spirit and pride, and there are many events to look forward to this school year. Coming especially early this year, the dance will take place on Sept. 3 and will be centered around an “Enchanted Garden” theme. Additionally, the race for homecoming king and queen have grown increasingly competitive than the last due to the significantly higher number of people running this year.
“I’m really glad that so many people are running,” AP English teacher and Student Council sponsor Amy Gaden said. “I think it says great things about school spirit and people’s enthusiasm for homecoming. So I’m sure they’re all great and I wish them the best of luck.”
With over 50 seniors running and only 14 spots on court, the competition has been extremely tough. In the weeks leading up to nominations, those interested have been campaigning through social media platforms such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snapchat.
“I just want to represent the school in the best light,” nominee Katy Aung said, “I thought it would be a fun way to represent [yearbook] that I am editor-in-chief of.”
Homecoming this year is extraordinarily early, which has pushed planning up by months. Behind the scenes, the early set date has caused some problems for the Student Council (STUCO), who have been under pressure to get everything up and running on time. The time crunch has led to some compromises and technical issues.
“We’re trying to keep everything a little more simpler because of our time crunch,” STUCO President Jackie Lam said. “For example, our centerpieces are a little more simple than last year. Last year our centerpieces were very intricate.”
Behind the scenes, the preparations STUCO set up are more tedious than people realize. Especially with the tight deadline, they’ve had to put in more work than usual, starting before the school year began to make this year’s homecoming an experience the whole student body can enjoy. Additionally, all three events of homecoming, the parade, the football game, and the dance, require meticulous planning and preparation. As a result, preparing and executing has become more challenging for STUCO.
“There are so many things that go into it, from figuring out the dress taste to helping with the court nomination and election process too,” Gaden said. “We hand make all of the centerpieces we do, the posters we do, ticket design. We order all the catering and all the food.”
A big part and responsibility of being nominated for the homecoming court is the responsibilities that come with it for representing the school. Nominees are expected to show leadership, support their peers, and, most importantly, represent the school with pride.
“I think the homecoming court represents Seven Lakes because it’s so diverse,” Nominee Hudson Smith said. “All the different parts of our school really come together for homecoming court.”
As homecoming season approaches, the football game, pep rally, and spirit week all bring everyone together for the first time in the school year. The events and the tradition overall is an opportunity for all parts of the student body of different organizations and groups to express school spirit and valuing tradition.
“I think homecoming really just unites the school because we go to a really ginormous school of almost 4000 kids,” Aung said. “I think it’s a great way to unite the entire school even though we’re in a bunch of different organizations.”
