The Royal Court is a tradition in which JC students are able to vote for their peers who they feel are best representatives of their class.

In early October, students received an email from SGA Co-Moderator Allison Hall with a link to vote for members of the court. Depending on their grade level, students received a certain number of votes to vote for their peers.

This year the Royal Court consisted of five freshmen, five sophomores, five juniors, and seven seniors.

The purpose of having an odd number of students on the court from each grade was to steer students away from voting for couples.

“We wanted people to vote for individuals. If a person does not have a boyfriend or girlfriend, that does not mean that person should be ineligible for the court. Every student should have the same opportunity,” said Mrs. Hall.

She added that the court is supposed to represent those who demonstrate the Patriot values.
SGA Co-Moderator Anthony Davidson said, “I feel that the change was positive as it was moved away from being interpreted as ‘couples participation’ and acknowledged students in general. Students who would not normally participate were now given their chance in the spotlight.”

SGA President and Royal Court Member Gracious Ndungu said that she “really liked having seven seniors on the court.”

Gracious added, “The more seniors do together, the better. Unity is something that is super important to me. It is my last year here, so I want to make it special for everyone.”

Another change from last year is that a Homecoming King and Queen were not crowned.

At the football game, the court was recognized at half-time. The students’ names were announced as they walked across the field. The crowd also heard brief descriptions about the seniors on the court after their names were announced.

On Saturday, the court was announced at the Homecoming Dance and were presented with flowers.

Sophomore Evan DeVoe said that he felt “honored to have the opportunity to represent [his] class at one of the most prominent events of the school year.”

Upperclassmen also acknowledged the honor of being on the Royal Court this year.

Senior Brennan Rumsey said, “It’s exciting that people wanted me as a member on the court.”