Homecoming Court is a tradition at most schools. At Homecoming Court, a Princess & Prince are crowned, along with the Queen and King. Middle and Junior high schools mostly take part in Homecoming Courts (these are often underclassmen nominated by their classmates). Depending on the type of school, Homecoming can be different. All male schools only crown a King and Prince, and and all female schools only recognize a Queen and Princess .

Here at Cleveland High School, students nominate one male and one female student from each of the freshman and sophomore classes. The junior class nominates three male students and three female students to compete, and the senior class nominates five males and five female students to compete for the titles of Homecoming King and Queen. The runners-up for each grade level are awarded titles of “Prince” and “Princess.” A more recent trend in Homecoming Courts is that nominees actively campaign to win the competition.

Based on interviews with students who got nominated for Homecoming, all the girls had similar responses. When asked winning Homecoming Queen or Princess was worth campaigning, going to buy a new dress, getting all dolled up,  all of the girls agreed that it was worth it because it is not about winning. Being Queen or Princess is about having fun and getting involved in school activities.

Campaigning is limiting at Cleveland High School. There are certain things students can and cannot put on posters. For example, clothing in any photos has to be appropriate, and the participants are not allowed to downtalk one another. Most of the campaigning for Homecoming Court takes place on Snapchat, a social media platform used by many people under the age of 18.

Girls campaign more than guys. One nominee, Junior Peyton Jenkins, said that she did not actually campaign for Homecoming Court. Her and friends were having a conversation which turned into a joke, and then two days later she was nominated.

Guys tend to get nominated by their friends.

Homecoming Court will be determined by student vote on October 12, but students and the community will not know the winners of the titles until the Pep Rally and football games on October 13. Cleveland does have a unique situation in that reigning Homecoming Queen, Senior Emily Mitchem, has the potential to be crowned for the fourth straight year.