West Ranch students were given the opportunity to elect their 2024 Homecoming Court. In late August, students could nominate candidates during their English classes. Mrs. Priske, the West Ranch High School ASB director, outlined the process of electing the Homecoming Court and the differences between the election procedure for senior royalty.
“For freshman, sophomores and juniors, the people with the top vote are the royalty for those classes. For the seniors, they vote for the top thirty and then they narrow it down to the top twelve. From those twelve, the day before and the day-of is the royalty voting,” she explained. The twelve senior court nominees promoted their campaigns using videos on WRTV and social media.
After the student body voted on their picks, the title of Queen was announced at the football game on Sept. 5 during the halftime show. With the crowd applause, Tashvi Ratnani was declared Homecoming queen. When asked how she felt after obtaining the title, Ratnani expressed, “I think the experience of being on court as well as winning Queen has opened me up to friendships with new groups of people that I wouldn’t have had a chance to talk to otherwise.”
Ratnani described how the thought of hundreds of people choosing her to be Queen, combined with hearing the cheers of support from her friends and classmates made her feel incredibly grateful for her community.
At the Homecoming Dance, the official King was revealed through a walkway created by students, adorned in flashing lights. Peter Everitt, the chosen senior, walked down the aisle as his peers celebrated his victory. As he descended his way through the walkway, Everitt described his experience in front of so many students as nerve-wracking.
He later explained that he was overjoyed that students voted for him and thought he was suitable for the title. After all the announcements, students continued dancing the night away.
Mrs. Priske emphasized the impact of having the West Ranch Student Body vote for their Homecoming Court and how it can encourage Wildcats to feel more involved in school activities: “It is cool to see the students that are represented because I feel like it always represents a wide range of students on campus.” This year’s Homecoming was an unforgettable night for both our candidates and the Cats who voted!
