Being a part of Homecoming court can be an exciting event in one’s high school career, but for three seniors, walking onto the football field during the Homecoming game to find out who is going to be crowned Homecoming king and queen is something that does not appeal to them.

“I was kind of indifferent about [my nomination]” senior Carl Palmquist said. “There wasn’t a whole lot of excitement about it.”

Senior Jason Castillo, however, felt honored that his classmates would even think to nominate him.

“I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” Castillo said. “It really didn’t [occur to me that I’d be nominated]. I tweeted about it as a joke [saying], ‘all these people thirsty for Homecoming votes,’ and I said ‘#voteforJasonHomecoming.’”

While he appreciated his peers’ admiration, Castillo decided to pass on the nomination and let someone who wanted it more take his spot because he didn’t want to commit to participating in the video and spending money on a tuxedo.

“I kept asking myself ‘is this what I want to do?’ and the answer I kept coming up with was ‘no,’” Castillo said. “… They have substitutes for us, [and] there [is] a kid who would be much more enthused than I am right now, so I’d rather have that person get it.”

For Palmquist, tickets to a concert the same night as the Homecoming football game helped him decide whether or not to take his spot on Homecoming court.

“I have tickets for Buzz Beach Ball, and I’d rather go see a concert than go to a football game,” Palmquist said.

Not thrilled about the nomination, T.J. Everett knew that being a part of Homecoming didn’t appeal to him because he didn’t want the publicity that came with being on the court.  Like Castillo, the nomination came as a surprise.

“I don’t think I fit into the whole Homecoming social group,” Everett said. “I’m not really involved in [a lot] of student organizations and I don’t really put myself out there.”

Everett believes that Homecoming candidates should have to meet more criteria than just likability. Because of the nature of the selection process, the decision to nix the nomination came as a very easy one for Everett.

“I don’t think Homecoming is something that really makes sense at Free State,” he said. “… The rest of the year all [that] the administration focuses on is telling us that we’re all equal and [that] nobody is more popular than another person, but then we have Homecoming and Prom king and queen. It’s basically a popularity vote.”