A small claims judge dismissed Sacramento State student Sandra Howery’s lawsuit against the university over money she spent on her hair and dress for the fall 2008 homecoming competition.

A case dismissed without prejudice can be re-filed by the plaintiff. Howery plans to file her lawsuit again and sue Associated Students Inc. The judge told her that she cannot sue Sac State because homecoming is part of ASI, not the university.

“The judge said I have a good case,” she said.

Howery’s lawsuit is based on an e-mail sent to her and the other candidates

The lawsuit is based on an e-mail that was sent out to the candidates stipulating that the final event attire was semi-formal. They also had the option to have their hair done by Mellow Me Out which is located in the union. Howery said she paid for her hair to be done and bought a cocktail dress for the occasion while other candidates dressed casually.

She said the rules stated that the candidates must comply or be disqualified.

ASI President Miguel Cervantes said ASI has not received any formal notification that a suit has been filed against the organization.

“The process has been reviewed by both ASI and Student Affairs administrators. It has been determined that the process was fair to all participants,” Cervantes said. “ASI will consider any recommendations to enhance the event.”

Howery said that no one from ASI has contacted her or tried to apologize. She also said that she will not participate in any campus events in the future.

“I’m done at Sac State,” Howery said.

On Jan. 16, Howery said she would re-file within a few days. As of Jan. 21, she had not done so.

She was unavailable for comment as of press time.

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m tired of talking about it,” she said.

The Homecoming competition is based on a point system; the individual with the most points wins.

The rules said participants are given 80 points for their essay, 70 for their grade point average, 60 for their resume, 30 for a quiz, 40 for their interview and 70 for participation.

Howery said she made a lot of donations to the school supply drive. She did so in an effort to make up for a quiz in which she scored seven out of 30 points.

She said she received 1,400 points for donations and should have won homecoming queen because she had more points than the other candidates.

“They should make sure to not say they’re giving individual points because participation points are the ones that matter,” Howery said.

Candidates were given individual points for school supply items with an assigned point value. If, for example, a candidate donated a backpack, six points would be added to his or her total score.

According to Howery, the individual points were not counted; only participation points were awarded to the candidates. There were five events worth 10 points each and 20 points for participation in the school supply drive for a total of 70 points.

Howery said she is suing because ASI did not enforce the rules correctly. She is seeking the money she used to pay for her hair and dress.

“It’s not about being homecoming queen. It’s about the principle of the whole thing,” Howery said.

Howery also claims that during her interview, Dezarae Johnson told her and others that she knew who the homecoming king was.

“You get points during homecoming week, so how could she know who the homecoming king was?” Howery said.

Dezarae Johnson, the student life and services manager, was unavailable for comment.

“The university was very sneaky and never communicated,” Howery said.

Student life and services Director Davin Brown said ASI has taken Howery’s concerns seriously and has promptly responded to any questions.

“The winner of the homecoming king and queen competition is based solely on points accrued during the homecoming competition process. Because the interview process takes place at the very beginning of the competition, it is not possible to have an identified a winner at that point,” Brown said.

Edward Jones, associate vice president for Student Affairs, also believes this claim is “not true.”

Jones said that it was a fair process, and right now ASI does not feel the need to apologize to Howery.

Catherine Robledo can be reached at [email protected]