homecoming 2021: new traditions

Rie Kim, Editor-in-Chief

School Events

Returning to in-person instruction this year has brought challenges to everyday school life, including school spirit. From “foco” to a new homecoming court system, these are some recent changes to Kamiak’s homecoming traditions that may be here to stay.

Due to ongoing COVID-19 cases and social distancing guidelines, Kamiak’s annual homecoming dance was canceled for another year. So instead, many students chose to opt into a new tradition: foco. “Fake homecoming” (foco) is the latest way students’ are taking back what COVID has stolen from their high school experience. Foco is essentially traditional homecoming without the formal school dance. Instead, students get together with friends to dress up, take pictures, eat dinner, and maybe partake in a different activity in lieu of the dance.

Jasper Gan ‘22 and Shubham Bansal ‘24 are two of many Kamiak students to participate in foco along with their friends. “I chose to participate in foco this year because it was my last year, and I wanted to experience it for one last time,” Gan said. However, Gan expressed that foco does not live up to the whole homecoming experience. “If we had a homecoming dance, I would have definitely gone to the actual dance instead of doing a foco. Focos are just not the same as an actual homecoming.”

Bansal shared the same sentiment as Gan: “One advantage to foco is that you get more freedom to choose what you do, and scheduling conflicts don’t prevent you from going. A disadvantage is that you have to plan out everything on your own, and it feels less formal,” Bansal said.

Despite feelings of an informal homecoming, especially returning from a year of virtual learning, overall, Kamiak students have learned to adapt to ever-changing situations and still have safe fun with friends.

Something new this year, not necessarily as a result of COVID, was Kamiak’s new homecoming court system: Homecoming Heroes. Transforming Kamiak’s homecoming court to include a more inclusive nomination process and diverse students have been in the works since 2019. The traditional homecoming court was not a gender-inclusive process by nominating students for the title of “King” and “Queen.” Some argued that previous nominations and voting were largely biased towards more “popular” students as well. Homecoming Heroes, however, has abolished the gender-specific titles and aims to recognize students for their efforts and what they give back to the school.

This year, the student body was able to nominate peers to become a Homecoming Hero in one of six categories: Academics, Involvement, Kindness, Inclusivity, School Spirit, and Rising Star (underclassmen) or Mentorship (upperclassmen). The selection process included a round of nominations from students and teachers and then a voting round based upon the nominations. Winners were determined by students earning the most votes in each category.

The emergence of foco and a new homecoming court system exemplifies how Kamiak has adapted to the ongoing pandemic and inclusion issues.

Congratulations to the following students for their nominations as 2021 Homecoming Heroes:

Freshman Class:

Academics: Iris Cho, Andrew Kang

Involvement: Salahudeen Kakar, Evan Laman

Kindness: Mia Gourdine, Abby Thorson

Inclusivity: Christine Caldwell, Finley Gonzales

School Spirit: Brooklyn Batingan, Kylee Toves

Rising Star: Klaire Mueller, Josiah Paige

Sophomore Class:

Academics: Brayla Burkhalter, Ben Conover

Involvement: Robin Choi, Julianna Shin

Kindness: Lindy Schwenn, Rebecca Serati

Inclusivity: Aliya Johnson, Andrew Stein

School Spirit: Marcus Closson, Courtney Laney

Rising Star: Bella Hasan, Ella Kunz

Junior Class:

Academics: Esaw Adhana, Avery Stengele

Involvement: Doc Semeraro, Mohuwa Wahid

Kindness: Alberto Garcia, Annabelle Heiman

Inclusivity: Zeke Higgins, Chloe Nuttbrock

School Spirit: Senai Azmach, Emerson Gruits

Mentorship: Parker Devalice, Ryah Mcvey

Senior Class:

Academics: Chaitna Deshmukh, Rie Kim, Areen Sugiyama

Involvement: Nahoum Giles, Sabrina Kim, Sam Lewis

Kindness: Abenezer Desta, Olivia Higgins

Inclusivity: Christina Burkhalter, Sandra Valmonte

School Spirit: Aidan Atkins, Jasper Gan

Mentorship: Awab Abbas, Emma Arceo

DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in this paper do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of Kamiak High School or The Gauntlet.