The Hunt For A Queen | …and the homecoming king and queen are?

By Davaughnia Wilson | Updated by October 16, 2021

After much anticipation, the Homecoming King and Queen were announced during today’s Homecoming football game halftime presentation. The Homecoming King and Queen are Kobe Robinson and Brianna Brion.

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The first and second runners are Haley Bryant and Danya Abdou.

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By Davaughnia Wilson | Published by October 15, 2021

The Homecoming King candidate is guaranteed a win as long as he votes for himself while the Queen candidates were scavenging for votes this week.

Homecoming Queen finalists were on a mission to get all the votes that they could to be crowned Queen on Saturday, October 16, while with only one male candidate running he was more relaxed in his campaigning.

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The Office of Student Government kicked off Homecoming week with a tabling event held in the  Miron Student Center (MSC) atrium dedicated to the Homecoming Court to socialize and encourage students to vote.

The event, held in the MSC, featured finalists Danya Abdou, Brianna Brion, and Haley Bryant. 

Abdou, a communication major said, “it was a great way to spread the word during one of the busiest times of the day. My overall goal was to share with students a little bit about myself and ask if they would support my campaign.”

Alyssa Edgar, the Graduate Intern for the Office of Student Government stated that the tabling event was provided during College Hour, a time when most students are free to generate more traffic. 

Candidates had strict rules to follow, and if they broke them they risk being disqualified. They were not allowed to campaign at the entrance of the MSC, and they were not allowed to assist students to vote. 

“I feel like that is a really good way for me personally to interact with people,” said Bryant, a mathematical science major. “They could ask me questions about myself, whatever they wanted to know, and I would gladly answer. So I am glad that we got the chance to have that in-person connection.”

They all added their own unique touch to the event by displaying QR codes, poster boards, flyers, pompoms, and sweet treats to give out to patrons as they walk by while encouraging them to vote. 

Bryant created a voting QR code that assisted voters in accessing the voting website promptly versus scouring through their emails to find the link sent by the Student Government earlier that morning.

“It was actually a suggestion from one of my sisters,” said Bryant. “Since we were in the middle of the MSC I figured it would’ve been quick for people to scan it because it took you straight to your Kean login and then the voting page.”

The use of the QR code made voting a lot easier for Byrant as she was able to interact with patrons promptly while still allowing them to vote without crowding her area.

“Even if people already voted you were still able to stop and have a conversation and introduce yourself real quick,” said Bryant.

Brion created a poster board that had multiple photos of herself with friends and a reminder note plastered in the middle, ‘Vote Brianna Brion Homecoming Queen.’

Brion majors in sociology and minors in political science. While working at the information desk in the MSC, she interns at the Human Rights Institute.

“I decided to run for homecoming queen because that is something that I wanted to do for the longest. This is my last semester and one thing that COVID taught me was never take anything for granted,” said Brion. 

At the time of application, all candidates must meet the university’s Student Leadership criteria and the Office of Student Government requirements.

They must be full-time, matriculated seniors with 90 or more completed credits. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required as well as a Biography of 250 words or less. 

All campaign policies align with the Center for Leadership and Success (CLS) requirements. The candidates created flyers that were approved by the CLS and posted them in different buildings on campus. 

Abdou had a huge poster board with her campaign photo, flyers, candy, and cheerleading Poms at her table to represent her organization. 

“One important campaign strategy was to socially connect with students, athletes, professors & classes. Another strategy I used to spread the word about my campaign was by posting flyers & sharing it on social media,” said Abdou.

Abdou stated that she is a very competitive person and she likes to accomplish goals that she sets for herself. She explained that the reason she ran for homecoming queen was that she wanted to challenge herself and put herself out there. 

If she were to be crowned Queen, she plans on using her platform to reflect positive leadership qualities, while continuing to get involved on campus.

“My campaigning experience has encouraged me to be more outgoing and utilize my leadership skills in an alternative way,” said Abdou. 

Brion explained that she is currently enrolled in a course called Political Participation that focuses on campaigning. 

“That class actually taught me a lot,” said Brion. “I am talking to people and introducing myself. I am just a friendly person. I gave out a little candy favor to make my name stick out. I also posted flyers and used social media.”

Student Trustee Kobe Robinson, who majors in communication with a minor in marketing is the only candidate running for Homecoming King. 

Robinson explained that he decided to not participate in the tabling event or campaign because he is the only male running. 

According to Edgar, as long as Robinson gets at least one vote, he is guaranteed the win as he ran unopposed.

“I was told that there wasn’t a lot of people running, I didn’t know that nobody was running,” said Robinson.

Robinson explained that he did not participate in the tabling event because he had other obligations as Mondays are his busiest day of the week. 

Robinson stated that after finding out that he was the only male candidate running, he didn’t put a lot of effort into campaigning. He, however, used social media to inform everyone that he was running. 

“I know there’s only one king but I still haven’t met him so I’m excited to meet him,” said Bryant.

Edgar stated that all finalists have to attend the Homecoming Pep Rally and the Homecoming Football Game. The winner will be announced during the half-time show. 

The Homecoming King and Queen are required to attend the Senior Formal and they may be asked to appear at events organized by the Office of Student Government.

“I feel like because I am the only guy, I want to give it a suspenseful feel,” said Robinson. “I want it to be suspenseful.”

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