OPINION: When Does Inclusion Become Exclusion?

By Dawson Beard, Skyline Desk Chief

ALPINE - Sul Ross State University joined in the efforts of universities across the country to foster a more “inclusive” environment by swapping out the traditional Homecoming King and Queen titles for the titles of Homecoming Royalty. While on the surface this seems like an inclusive initiative, I would argue that it’s anything but. 

For the first time in SRSU history, two females won the two highest titles of homecoming court. Since there is no longer a King and Queen, the homecoming court election is a free-for-all where anybody can win the two top titles. While it is a great, long-lasting memory for the Royalty winners, Klarissa Ortiz and Sofia Garcia, I am sure the lone male candidate, Andres Gomez, would have enjoyed the unopposed crowning as King that he would have had any other year.  

Another grievance I have with the new homecoming titles is the pure irony of them. While the homecoming title changes were made to be inclusive to those who do not identify as male or female, not one of the homecoming court candidates identified outside of the gender binary. In this case, it would be fine to call the winning candidates King or Queen, right? Hold on…not so fast. 

Remember, we live in a world where everyone needs to feel included and special, that is unless you identify with the gender of which you were born. No matter what the results were, and no matter what the candidates’ gender identities were, the title they were given was Royalty. It is hard to see this as anything but the equivalent of calling people who use she/her or he/him pronouns by they/them pronouns. If Student Life and the Sul Ross Homecoming Committee really wanted to be inclusive, they would have let each winner choose their official title, instead of forcing them into the gender-nonconforming virtue signaling that we received.