During my time at Syracuse, I was heavily involved in Traditions Commission, the organization on campus that assists the Office of Student Involvement in planning all of the traditions on campus, including Homecoming/Orange Central. In the article about Homecoming Court this week, it states that the Homecoming King and Queen process needs to be more inclusive. It also goes on to state that a lot of the people who are awarded this honor of Homecoming Court are also awarded other university “give outs” like the Orange Spirit Award, Senior Class Marshals, and Remembrance Scholars, and the selection process excludes students who have overcome a personal or physical obstacle or who have served our country. I believe this tradition is one of the opportunities that actually allow those who have overcome obstacles or veterans the ability to show their spirit for the school and to achieve such a title. In addition to the application process, during the interview, students are able to give more insight to their personal achievements and show why they should be on the Homecoming Court. The Traditions Commission did a great job of responding to this article as well and their response explains that the type of student Souter describes in her article have been included in the Homecoming Court for many years past. While I was involved in many organizations on campus and in the community, I did not initially know many of those who were by my side that week – many of them were not involved in the Remembrance Scholars or class marshals, or selected for the Orange Spirit Award – they were involved in other organizations on and off campus that contributed to their time at Syracuse. Thinking back to my time as a part of Homecoming Court and the process it took me to get to that point, I agree with Karen McGee that Syracuse is putting less emphasis on how many people you know and more on the involvement and achievements of the student.

Beth Anne Kieft
Syracuse University Class of 2011