SGA representatives have decided to broaden the scope of homecoming court nominations this year by allowing teachers to send in their own court selections.

Senior Class Representative Kevin Griffin (’19) and Leadership Teacher Kristen Haynor pioneered this idea after noticing that homecoming court has been losing its value at Madison for the past few years.

“Madison alumni remember homecoming court as being a huge honor when they went to high school, but in recent years it hasn’t seemed like as big of a deal,” Griffin said.

SGA members and students alike have also noticed that homecoming court has turned into a popularity contest, giving less students the opportunity to be nominated or chosen for court. The integration of teacher nominations aims to give more students a chance to be considered for court as well as make the competition more based on kindness and leadership exhibited in the classroom than popularity or attractiveness.

“I think this is a super necessary change. In past years, participation has been super low,” Griffin said. “Some students don’t participate in the festivities that come with being on homecoming court.”

Students can still enter their own nominations for court starting Friday, Sept. 14 to be considered with the teacher selections, but the teacher picks will be more heavily considered when final decisions are made. The nomination process will also extend nominations to girls and boys for all grade levels this year as opposed to the original rule that only girls could be nominated among underclassmen. All changes are aimed to encourage students and staff to get excited to be involved in homecoming court.