Most Baker students have gotten used to the quick and easy way of having a candidate for homecoming from each greek organization, two Mungano candidates and two independent candidates.
This year, Baker decided to change things up.
Now, each of the many organizations on campus recognized by student senate can choose their own candidates, and a panel of anonymous judges (consisting of Baker faculty) narrows the field to five men and five women.
There might be a positive to this new system. The old way of dividing the campus gives about half of the student body 12 candidates, while the other half is left with two.
However, this complicates things.
First of all, who does the voting? Maybe there should be two rounds of voting, ensuring candidates the student body wants to see compete.
Second, if only five positions are open per gender, it would allow each of the 10 greek organizations to have a candidate, but what about independents?
What if eight or nine greek organizations have a candidate in the running, but one or two are left hanging? That’s not much of a confidence boost for a week that’s supposed to be about fun.
The weeklong competition has, for as long as any current student can remember, been divided into greeks, independents and Mungano – each group working together for that coveted title of homecoming champions. From this perspective, things get skewed.
Most importantly, voting usually involves donating to some sort of charity. As sad as it may seem, will members of any groups decide not to participate because their candidate was not chosen?
Obviously it wouldn't be a good idea to allow anyone and everyone who wants to be a candidate to run. Halftime of a football game only lasts so long. <br/>But if some sort of preliminary voting existed that narrowed the field, it might make students happier.But if some sort of preliminary voting existed that narrowed the field, it might make students happier.
But if some sort of preliminary voting existed that narrowed the field, it might make students happier.