She wants to be homecoming king

Sophy Cohen, a student at Santa Monica High School, writes:

Is it time for a change?

Homecoming Spirit Week was last week at Santa Monica High School, ending with an amazing pep rally to awe the whole school. Starting on Monday with Superhero Day, Superman and Batman filled the school. Following that, Nerd Day embraced Samohi, as '50s-style nerds with suspenders and taped up glasses calculated the classrooms. Wednesday was taken to a different level, proclaimed Dress Up Like the Opposite Sex Day. An interesting look into boys’ perception of girls and vice versa, balloon boobs and pulled down jeans covered the halls. This started conversations about our stereotypes of the opposite sex. 

Thursday was declared Peace Day, and our school nixed the '60s-style flower children and opted for Barack Obama T-shirts and faces covered with peace symbols. On Friday, the big day, the rally of the year, the entire school gathered in to await the homecoming court.

For the first time, a girl decided to run for homecoming king. Untraditional? Yes. Against the norms? Yes. Following the change of our country? Yes. Samohi is a progressive school, always a step ahead in the next way to handle a situation.

After calls back and forth between the dean of students and assistant superintendent of the district, it was decided that since the application didn’t have gender specifics, there was nothing to keep a female running for a normally male position. Following that, her name was put on the ballot and the entire school voted. As she stepped out from the stage, the crowd burst out in cheers.

Although she wasn’t a winner in this election, her actions have opened the minds of students and teachers. She alone moved Samohi’s progression forward and wasn’t afraid to do so. So yes, not exactly normal in a high school setting, however, our country is calling for a time of change.

Photo credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times