At halftime of the football game against Mountain View on the evening of  Oct. 4, seniors Ingrid Hong and Nikhil Goel, both section editors for The Falcon, were crowned Homecoming Queen and King. Their victory came as at least a mild surprise since it, as it challenged the tradition of enthroning mainly marching band members.

Goel, who is not involved in the school’s 200-plus member band but is the ASB president, said he was surprised upon his coronation as “it’s been the trend for many years for band members to win.”

He had expected senior twins Lauren Casey-Clyde and Tim Casey-Clyde to claim the throne.

“They are drum majors, and so they have the whole monolithic band vote,” Goel said. “On top of that, people, including myself, thought it would have been really awesome since they are related.”

Goel thinks that this year’s Homecoming results show a change in school culture.

“I think the power of band is weakening,” Goel said. “Band isn’t voting as a block anymore; members are voting as individuals.”

Queen Hong also found her win surprising; even more so than Goel, judging from her new Facebook profile picture, where she stands beside King Goel, covering her mouth in sincere shock.

“I thought it would be either Lauren or Jennie [Werner],” Hong said. “I was definitely honored to be in top three, but winning was just unimaginable.”

It seems that the tides once favoring the marching band in Homecoming court elections may be turning. This time, they are surging toward a comparatively small group of students, the 68-member Falcon staff. No complaints here!