Perry StuGo has altered the way they accept homecoming royalty this year, in order to be more open to non-heterosexual couples.

Lerina Johnson, Stugo instructor, explained that in the past, homecoming royalty was determined by pairing the girl with the most votes with the boy with the most votes. This year, however, students will vote for their favorite couple, in order to be more inclusive of gay couples. She said that “whoever gets nominated, we are going with what the students pick.” She added that this is the first year this policy has been utilized. So far, there has not been any backlash, she included. Head of the homecoming royalty committee Monroe Matson stated that the new way nominations were accepted “would give an opportunity to all kinds of couples.”

Senior Matt Maltese is one of the homecoming royalty nominees that benefits from this new policy. They have stated that “[non-straight] couples should just be normal anyway. For me, its not a big deal, because I’m just looking at it as something that should be happening anyway.” It is a new thing in regards to Perry, however, and one that seems to be widely accepted by students across campus. One sophomore Sydney Wolfe claimed that she “doesn’t mind it. My whole opinion on that is if somebody genuinely loves someone, they should be able to be with them.” Maltese is nominated for homecoming royalty along with senior Gav Shade as friends. Both identify as binary.

There are two other senior couples nominated for homecoming royalty, both of which identify as straight. Maltese admitted to being excited about a possible win, as this would be a unique occurrence in all of Perry’s ten years since opening. Stugo will be announcing the homecoming royalty at the football game against Westwood at 7:00 during halftime.