2 women named 'homecoming royalty' at WVU after new policy does away with 'king' and 'queen' titles

Two female students made history at West Virginia University Saturday when they were crowned "homecoming royalty."

The university made the decision to do away with "king" and "queen" titles for their homecoming court winners this year in an effort to make the process more inclusive for students.

"Some of our students had approached our office about making our homecoming a little bit more inclusive in nature," West Virginia University director of student engagement and leadership, Thahn Le said. "In previous years, we had a king and queen but we actually removed the gender requirement in that. So this year, we decided to take it a step further with the students and said, 'Okay, let's just take out the king and queen all together and let's just move forward with the homecoming royalty court.'"

To be selected for homecoming court students must submit an application and are selected for interviews by faculty and fellow students based on academics and their involvement on campus, regardless of gender.

"We believe that this was the right decision and the right direction to go in order to feel that more students can have access to it and be able to apply," Le said. "We wanted to kind of remove any kind of barriers, whether it be gender or anything else for them to apply."

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With the new homecoming court requirements -- the final seven students picked for West Virginia University's homecoming court were five women and two men. The winners are selected through a combination of student body voting and scores from their application and interviews.

Seniors Raimah Hossain and Kylie Parker, 21, were crowned the first "homecoming royalty" winners in the university's history on Saturday -- making it the first year two female students earned the title.

"I definitely feel honored to be making this step with WVU to a more inclusive future for all students," Parker said. "I am so excited to look back in 20 years and represent the beginning of a new tradition that appreciates and includes all people. Tradition is so important and I'm so proud of WVU for making strides in the right direction."

Le said the overall reaction from students has been positive which he says affirms the university's decision to make the changes to their homecoming court system.

"We're just taking steps and making progress towards creating a more inclusive and diverse campus here," Le said. "That's what we're striving for."