Candidates election should be rethought, redefined

Webster's Dictionary defines a queen as a female monarch, or a woman notable for rank, power or attractiveness.

Last Thursday, SCSU redefined that definition when male student senate representative Fue Khang was awarded the tiara.

The event did not make Minnesota history because a male has been named queen before. Patrick Woods, from Minnesota-Morris won the title in 2001.

Hal Kimball, student government president, told the St. Cloud Times it does not support gender stereotypes. However, because the royal court is now comprised of three men and one woman, student government has created gender inequality.

The royal court is set up with a king, queen, prince and princess, which gives each gender two places on the court. Student government not only disregarded tradition, it took away a female student's right to represent SCSU.

The student senate not only ran a male for queen, but also a female for king. What was student senate hoping to gain by this gender role reversal?

The king and queen share equal responsibilities. If Khang would have been elected king, he would have spent the weekend participating in the same manner as the queen.

SCSU has to be pleased by the amount of attention homecoming has received because of the break in tradition. Unfortunately, the publicity-both negative and positive-came at the expense of 57 female candidates.

If a woman wins the presidency some day, her husband will not be known as the First Lady. If student government does not want to place homecoming candidates in gender-defining categories, it should work to do away with the terms king, queen, prince and princess. The candidates should run to fill four spots as homecoming ambassadors.

Student government will not change the terms defining the royal court. Students can expect to see a king, queen, prince and princess crowned at future homecomings, because it is a tradition too popular to end. If student government will not change tradition, it should not tinker with it.