Before we begin, let me say that writing this column about the homecoming royalty selection process is beneath me. Researching the finer points of the homecoming crown has been an utter waste of my time and resources.

Associated Students Inc. possibly avoided an unsavory legal battle earlier this month when a judge said that Sandra Howery must re-file her lawsuit, but the student organization should have little reason to believe it has weathered the storm.

Howery had filed a suit against Sacramento State, but the judge said ASI must be the main defendant. As of press time, Howery has not re-filed her lawsuit.

The recent graduate was a contestant for homecoming queen last year. She feels that ASI’s process for selection was more ambiguous than it was described. The forms to fill out for homecoming king/queen are tedious but not daunting. The requirements are pretty basic: a student must have at least a 2.5 grade point average and participate in a series of campus events. They must also write a 500-word essay on a given topic.

In an e-mail to The State Hornet, Howery said her displeasure with ASI stems from her feeling like she wasted money on a dress and hair appointment, as well as being misled about the selection process.

Wasting money and time is always upsetting, but it doesn’t necessitate a lawsuit.

She also said in e-mails to the Hornet that ASI probably will not change anything, and that is what is most upsetting to her.

Executive Director of ASI Patricia Worley said in an e-mail to the Hornet that she has neither met nor talked with Howery, and that problems of this nature regarding the selection process have not happened before.

Worley did say that the selection process – along with all other ASI policies – are “reviewed periodically.”

She added that the methods will be reviewed again before this year’s selection begins.

Howery certainly does not hold ASI in high esteem. Her e-mails showcase ASI as a group that is infallible in its own eyes. But it’s not all dreary for Howery.

Most importantly, her e-mails show she still holds her education from Sac State in high esteem.

She majored in recreation administration, concentrated in therapeutic recreation and minored in gerontology. She is a member of the Golden Key Honor Society and a Summa Cum Laude graduate. She graduated with a near-4.0 GPA.

The thought that all of this drama comes from something as pointless and pathetic as homecoming royalty brings bile to the back of my throat.

What’s the big deal with being homecoming king or queen? A homecoming king doesn’t get to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of a Wal-Mart. They don’t get any significant responsibilities. What’s the incentive?

It’s pompous pageantry that seemingly every high school and college finds the need to participate in.

There is also little positive notoriety that goes along with the position, which further inhibits my ability to contemplate its seemingly vast importance.

My impression of your typical homecoming queen is some perpetually intoxicated sorority girl with scabby knees who takes the morning-after pill the night before.

While ASI should be commended for its attempts at not making these types of girls homecoming queen, the prize itself is still childish and worthless.

Even though ASI is not a troubled group that finds itself in court on a regular basis, this is not the first time the organization teeters on the verge of a court battle.

In 2003, ASI’s board of directors voted unanimously to bring a lawsuit against Six-One-Nine Graphic Design. The company was contracted $10,000 in order to redesign ASI’s website, but Six-One-Nine essentially sat on its thumbs and the two sides settled before things had to go to court.

Ideally, this won’t go to court either. Howery is intelligent. She knows the importance of her education and she is focusing on her internship. She graduated with honors. She can choose to have fond memories of how hard she worked to earn her diploma, or she can waste more time, energy and money on a trivial popularity contest.

Jordan Guinn can be reached at [email protected]