During halftime at the 2009 homecoming game, the Stony Brook Seawolves and Presbyterian Blue Hose bustle into their respective locker rooms. The marching band, color guard, dance team and cheerleading squad boost crowd morale. Then it comes time for ten students in formal wear to take to the field.
Audience members scream for their favorite homecoming king and queen candidates, as the men in suits and women in gowns glide onto the Astro-turf, bearing their ‘Homecoming Candidate’ sashes.
After a brief introduction to the candidates, the winners of the 2009 Homecoming king and queen contest were announced. The homecoming committee crowned Felix Claudio, a senior and engineering science major, and Vivianna Schwoerer, also a senior, majoring in political science and history.
The Stony Brook University Homecoming King and Queen competition ‘recognizes two Stony Brook Students for their participation in campus life and their promotion of school spirit’, according to the application.
Felix Claudio is a resident assistant for Amman college in Mendelsohn Quad, as well as a member of the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers. Vivianna Schwoerer is a resident assistant for Schick college in Kelly Quad, a member of the Latin American Student Organization, and of the Sigma Lambda Upsilon sorority.
The homecoming king and queen represent the Stony Brook University student body at campus community service events, promoting school spirit.
Candidates were judged the Wednesday before the homecoming game, at an event called the Creative Expressions Competition. The 10 nominees were judged on communication skills, leadership experience, campus involvement and the talents they chose to showcase that night.
During the Creative Expressions Competition, each member of the court, consisting of the homecoming candidates, had five-minute talent portions to win votes. Eight non-student judges and the student votes helped choose the king and queen.
Craig McCarthy –a senior and engineering science major — and a candidate for homecoming king, calls the selection process ‘as fair as it possibly could have been’. According to McCarthy, ‘the school attempts to use a selection process that is based more on content and the person, rather than a popularity contest’.
McCarthy considers the homecoming court ‘another great traditional event that goes on at every school.’ Arguing for the purpose of the homecoming king and queen position, McCarthy says the contests winners ‘get to wear the crown, but most importantly they represent the school for that year’hellip; They give a face to the student body’. ‘
