When student council first announced the homecoming court on Twitter, it had two nominees. Then, they changed it to three. However, McKinney High School’s homecoming court has always consisted of four nominees per category.

Homecoming no longer included a dance but instead adopted North’s tradition of an after game “movie night.” Teachers did not wear jerseys for “Jerseys and Juice,” and a charitable organization was no longer supported during homecoming week.

McKinney High School is “The Original,” and our traditions should be honored and only changed for improvement.

Interest in new events does not compensate for the disregard of old traditions. Several students commented on the small size of the homecoming court. While one small detail may not seem important in the overall scheme of things, it was obviously noticeable.

Members of student council are entrusted with translating the voice of the student body. However, communicating within the committee rather than hearing opinions of other students fails to fulfill this task.

If a tradition is changed, it should be by the vote of the community, not self-appointed leaders. Our motto is “rich in legacy,” not “rich in the whims of whoever is in charge.”

Student council reasons that the change in the number of nominees reflected the lack of votes and hassle of re-voting. If enough people aren’t voting, change the voting process, not the number of nominees. However, student council should be commended for using Google Docs to collect votes for senior class motto and song.

While all three McKinney high schools share similarities, we are not North, and we are most definitely not Boyd. Adopting other schools’ traditions does not compare to the original version. Traditions are intact and should be followed because the copy will never be good as the original.

Change can be great, but when our high school is the oldest in McKinney, things like renowned, established traditions outweigh the flashy appeal of variation. The words “we’ve been doing this since …” carry a sense of legacy. After all, we built this city, and we should be proud to stand on its foundation.