CONTROVERSY: Poly High School seniors argue that the Homecoming float competition was judged unfairly.
By Birdy Jones, Staff Writer
Even though Poly High School’s Homecoming has come to an end, seniors’ accusations have yet to do so. After the shocking announcement of the float competition winners at the Homecoming half-time show, many seniors were unhappy to find out that the junior class took first place. Traditionally, it is the senior class who take first place in this competition, so how did the juniors take the victory this year?
The answer is clear to four-year ASB member and senior class president Paige Vaughan (12). Vaughan believes that the seniors’ loss was the result of unfair judgment. “Many floats have been disqualified in the past for putting the opposing team’s mascot on their float negatively,” Vaughan stated, addressing the contents of the junior class float. “I also wish other classes knew that things not made of tissue flowers were allowed on the float,” Vaughan expressed. “Things that weren’t allowed in the past were allowed this year, but only one class knew about these things.”
In contrast, the junior class advisor of eight years, Adrianne Dubuisson, disagrees with the claim that any rules were broken. “All class advisors have a set of rules. I’m not sure why there has been so much controversy. It’s possibly because of the rumor started that you can’t have the other team’s mascot on your float, but that is simply not true,” Dubuisson stated. “As junior class advisor, I can’t think of a year when we did not have the other team’s mascot on the float.” Dubuisson is pleased with the results of the float competition and feels that it was judged fairly.
In congruence with Dubuission’s belief regarding all of the controversy, three-year ASB member Yadira Schrom (11) makes her point clear that the results were “fair and accurate” this year. “All of the controversy derives from the rumors spread about the junior class breaking the rules,” Schrom said. She further explained: “It is important for people to know that all of the controversial aspects of our float were approved by Mrs. Douty and both of our class advisors.”
Madelynn Knust (12), a significant contributor to the senior float, argues that the juniors only won because the rules were unfair: “The seniors would have won had we been informed that we could use props that were not covered with flowers. The juniors were allowed to use a hammock that became the major focus on the float and had no flowers on it. Had every other class been made aware of this, the competition would have been on a whole different level.”
As seniors continue to disagree with the results, parents begin to join in on the movement. Poly High School alumni and father of a Poly senior, James Vaughan, is outraged by the results of the float competition. After dedicating 11 years to float building (including his four years at Poly High School), Vaughan feels that “the seniors were robbed this year.” “Having 3 characters on the float and all of the detail and props covered in flowers, they [the seniors] should have won, unlike the junior class who used store-bought props and had the mascot of the opposing team on the float. This should have disqualified them like the senior class in 2012,” he said. Vaughan has no desire to participate in float building for a 12th year “unless the rule-bending and poor judging stops.”
Despite all of the debate, the results are final. Whether the juniors’ victory was warranted or not is unclear. All we can say for sure is that Poly’s controversy-prompting tradition survived another year and will live to see a next.