Areal Hughes, representing the Queer-Straight Alliance Club, was in tears Saturday, Oct. 18, when she won the crown for Homecoming Queen.
“Oh, my God, it feels intensely exciting, overwhelming and a true blessing,” she said.
The crowd at Falcon Stadium was filled with alumni, hopeful families and friends cheering and holding posters all in support of the Homecoming Court.
The ceremony took place during halftime of the football team’s game against Allan Hancock College.
When Hughes heard her name she immediately screamed and broke out in tears.
“For me, this means that I just got so much support and love from everyone enough to get those votes in order to win,” she said.
As the queen, she is going to represent students of “every color, every race and every gender.”
Each candidate had about two weeks to campaign for the crown.
Campaigns were organized through the form of flyers, posters, stickers, buttons, giving out candy and promoting the elections through Facebook.
Hughes’ strategy was to be out there campaigning every single day, never letting anyone pass her.
Her pitch to those walking around campus during elections was, “Hey, I know that you think it’s out of your way, but I think you’re headed to where I think you need to be right now, and that is to vote for me.”
The other princesses did not seem to be disappointed or upset with the results; they gained new experiences and were happy for Hughes.
Jaci Navas, who represented no club during Homecoming, said, “It was so worth it. I might not have won queen, but I made it to princess and that in itself I think is amazing.”
She was the only candidate that was running independently. She initially decided to participate to show her more feminine side.
“I got to meet new people, (and I gained) self-confidence and I realized, ‘you know what, I’m beautiful no matter what people think.’”
“Areal really deserved it,” Alejandra Luz, representing iFalcon Club, said.
Michelle Mancilla, a business administration major and Homecoming Queen from last year, was happy to pass the crown to a friend.
“It feels so good, because, honestly, I’m friends with all of the princesses, so it was so hard, and I was just happy to know that whoever was the winner, I was going to give the crown to my friend.”
The entire Homecoming Court for 2014:
- Marnie Arcilla, Kabarkada Club
- Wendy Sixtos, Child Development Club
- Jaci Navas, Independent
- Areal Hughes, Queer-Straight Alliance
- Samantha Vasquez, Order of the Falcon
- Alejandra Luz, iFalcon Club
- Stacey Sandoval, Phi Beta Lambda
