Throughout Homecoming Week, one of the biggest events happening on campus was campaigning for Homecoming King and Queen.
Throughout the week, candidates from different student organizations, sororities and fraternities campaigned for king and queen to represent their different organizations.The 2018 Homecoming King and Queen were crowned at Saturday’s football game during halftime.
Caelan Peterson won Homecoming King, and Mandy Nutter was crowned Homecoming Queen.
“I’m just so proud to represent not only the Buccaneers but my Alpha Delta Pi sisters as well,” Nutter said. “It’s just an honor.”
Other candidates offered insight on the process of running for king and queen.
Gospel Choir President and VP for the Black Affairs Association Brook’ale Anderson said she decided to run for a few reasons.
“It was just the support that me and my partner, Jimmy, felt like we would receive,” Anderson said. “We’re both really active in the community, so we both felt like this would be a way to give back to our culture and give back to community and our organizations as well.”
Anderson said that to run for Homecoming she had to go through a process.
“First we open it up in our executive board meeting,” Anderson said. “We felt like we needed to have at least one person run this year. We had someone run last year, and we wanted to keep it up.”
Anderson said after she and her partner decided to run, they had to fill out an application explaining who they were and their campus involvement. Anderson said that by running she hopes to bring representation to her community.
“Hopefully if I win I can kind of shed a positive light on my community,” Anderson said before the game. “And kind of give confidence to others like me, as both a black woman and as a black gay woman. I just want to give confidence and kind of give hope to those out there like me.”
Nolan McClain was another candidate for Homecoming this year.
“I have a lot of pride in ETSU,” McClain said. “I’m glad that I’m here, and I love the Bucs and all that. I just wanted to throw my hat in the ring and see what I can do.”
McClain ran for Sigma Phi Epsilon, and to campaign he participated in various events.
“It was fun,” McClain said. “I got pied in the face at our carnival game for Homecoming.”
McClain said the support of student organizations is what makes Homecoming great.
“It feels amazing,” McClain said. “Seeing the backing of my guys not only in BYX but AOPII come out and vote for us … and support ETSU blue and gold is amazing.”
