By: Jaedyn Bryant, Bailey Pope, Makayla Rogers, Maria Montalvo Zavala
The tradition of Homecoming to welcome students back for a new year has been an ongoing tradition here at LHS. The tradition consists of a fun themed week, pep-rally, football game, all leading up to the dance and crowning of the king and queen. LHS made history this homecoming season by crowning its first Latina Homecoming Queen. Daisy Flores was crowned our 2019 homecoming queen on October 11, 2019, alongside her fellow senior court companions. The event surprised most, as she isn’t the stereotypical homecoming queen one would see in teenage movies. The overwhelming support shown for Daisy was a moving experience for her. The crowning of a Latina queen left many thinking about what this could mean for the upcoming classes of LHS. Being the first Latina Queen opens doors and opportunities for not only other Latinas here in the Loganville community, but also other females who don’t see themselves as fitting into a stereotype that was created by high school movies portraying an unrealistic feminine ideal. Coach Smith has worked at LHS for ten years, so he has seen many homecoming queens be elected. None of them had been a shock for him, but Daisy’s astonishing election was different. He commented, “It did surprise me, but I was really happy for her.” As one of Daisy's former teachers, he “thought it was awesome.” Coach Smith believes that “Daisy is a great representation for the school and for people who aren’t part of the ‘popular’ crowd.” He believes this will have a big influence on future homecoming elections. He believes that Daisy’s remarkable win “shows that our school recognizes anyone who is kind and generous.” Coach Smith’s enthusiasm for Daisy winning shows how proud everyone is of Daisy. When Daisy was revealed to be the 2019 Homecoming Queen, many students responded with excitement, including Bria Hardeman who expressed that she wasn’t shocked to discover that Daisy had won. Additionally, after being asked about how Daisy’s victory would affect younger girls, Bria and Brooke Abrahamsen agreed that it proved anyone, no matter their race or appearance, could win homecoming queen. When asked why they voted for Daisy, the two responded by saying that she was amazing; however, another student, Chase Garner, went into more detail. He explained that “she deserves it… she’s so sweet and a caring friend.” Evidently, many students agreed with Chase, resulting in Daisy’s crowning as Homecoming Queen. “To be the first Latina Queen was something magical,” Daisy recalls, “I didn’t really think I could actually win because I don’t fit the stereotype; it shows that personality beats beauty.” When speaking of her legacy, Daisy says, “it shows them you don’t have to be a certain color, act a certain way to achieve such greatness, in a community where it’s never been done.” She also mentioned that, “It influences a lot… it’s not based on popularity, it’s based on how you treat people.” Daisy hopes “more powerful, colored young women win, and that this shows that you need to be yourself, and you don’t need to act a certain way to win.” In the end, she will always want her future successors to “stay true to yourself” because she wants nothing but positivity to revolve around the homecoming queen tradition. Daisy, being the first Latina Homecoming Queen, has shown that everything is not what it seems. She opened new doors of acceptance and comfort for impressionable girls at LHS worrying about having to look or act a certain way in order to be able to achieve magical moments such as winning homecoming queen. Daisy is excited to come back for the 2020 homecoming crowning and hopes that the winner is somebody breaking boundaries and creating positive change here at LHS.
Daisy taking pictures with the other senior contstestants.