If there is going to be a homecoming, then there must be a Homecoming King. In California, a student with special needs decided to run for Homecoming King. His fellow students made certain that he not only won, but won by a landslide. Finally, a happy story about this year’s homecoming events!
The selection of Homecoming King, and Homecoming Queen, is a very big deal. I’m not certain exactly what these two titles were intended to represent, but I do know that it generally comes down to a popularity contest. The most popular teens win because they are able to get the most votes.
Ivan Mendoza, an 18 year old high school student, attends Crawford High School in San Diego, California. Ivan has Down Syndrome. He decided that he wanted to run for Homecoming King. His fellow seniors all decided that Ivan would not have any competition in his quest for the crown. He won the “election” for Homecoming King by a landslide. None of the other seniors even applied for the title of Homecoming King once they heard that Ivan was running.
Thelma Isioda, a fellow student, was one of the nominees for Homecoming Queen. She said that her reasons for wanting to win the title changed once she knew that Ivan had been nominated. She said:
“When I heard he was going to be King I wanted to win because it would be a pleasure to stand next to him.”
It seems that Ivan was active in his school’s Associated Student Body and is very well liked. His family is very pleased that Ivan’s classmates see him as a fellow student. They overlook his disability, and instead focus on his great personality. How wonderful! Ivan’s homecoming story has a very positive ending. It is so nice to hear that.
Earlier, I blogged about a story in a different school that also involved homecoming, but was not a positive story. In Missouri, high school students made sure that a fifteen year old girl who has special needs was elected to the homecoming court. She has ADHD and “several social disorders”.
The girl has difficulty making friends, and her best friend is a duck that lives on the family’s farm. The students in her school wanted the girl to be in the homecoming parade so they could humiliate her. They planned on quacking and throwing eggs. Her mother has asked for all of the homecoming activities to be cancelled due to this planned prank (which might have been a rumor).
Clearly, some high school students are more mature than others. I’m hoping that the majority of stories this year that involve homecoming and students with special needs are like the one with Ivan. It seems to be more difficult to find a positive story in the news than it is to come across a negative one, though.
Image by Anthony Easton on Flickr