It’s a festive banquet where old friends, some of whom have traveled great distances and haven’t seen one another for decades. It’s a parade rife with jubilant celebration and a rally to boost morale and confidence in an impending victory over bitter foes. And it’s the coronation of a queen.

It may sound like something out of renaissance England, but two weeks ago, families, friends, and alumni converged on the Hill for Homecoming, bringing to Western a joyous excitement felt at no other time of year. Still, for many students, Homecoming is a week of annoyances, if they even notice it’s Homecoming at all. One transfer student I spoke with didn’t even realize it was Homecoming, and my own roommate was surprised to learn there was a parade every year.

But for Greek students, Homecoming is a time to celebrate. Full of activities, from building floats of chicken wire and tissue paper to being the loudest at “Big Red’s Roar,” the traditional pre-game pep rally, Homecoming is one of the most important weeks of the year for fraternities and sororities. Of all the competitive events, though, perhaps none would seem—to an outsider, at least—more competitive than that of being selected Homecoming Queen.

Each fall posters litter campus asking students to log on TopNet and vote for so and so, representing such and such, for Homecoming Queen. The turnout is always miserably low, considering WKU is a school of 20,000 students, but for the 18 women nominated, it is one of the busiest weeks of their collegiate careers.

Such was the case for Danielle Averill, a senior from Paducha who was nominated for Homecoming Queen by her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi), and represented her chapter as well as the two fraternities it was paired with for Homecoming by Greek Affairs—Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) and Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR). Though the week is daunting, Danielle committed to it with poise and grace, her pearls and up-do hardly ruffled by the process.

Tuesday and Wednesday: The week begins

It’s a process that officially began on Tuesday morning, when the queen candidates gathered at the Salvation Army on W Main Ave for their annual volunteer project. However, Danielle’s story really begins on Wednesday. The dim lights cast a pale glow on third floor of the Downing University Center, the sound of students hanging out echoed from the open lobby below. Draping over the banisters surrounding the spiraling red staircases were banners, each done by a different organization commemorating this year’s Homecoming theme: “Rolling out the Red.”

Danielle has come to DUC on this evening to be interviewed by the Homecoming Queen Selection Committee, a committee of five people representing various elements of the WKU community who sit for hours interviewing every candidate nominated. Out of these 19 candidates, though, only ten with the highest number of student votes be eligible to be crowned Queen. Only the committee will ever know who those ten women were, and so long as you’re in the top ten, it’s like a game of “Who’s Line is it Anyway:” the points just don’t matter, as it’s down to the committee to decide.

Danielle sits nervously, her flowing ginger hair draping casually over her shoulders, covered in a business jacket with a WKU lapel pinned near her heart. Despite appearing slightly jittery, she insists she is prepared for the interview ahead, having talked to BryAnn Roth, the 2006 Homecoming Queen and Alpha Delta Pi alumna.

“She told me some of the questions they asked,” Danielle said. “She told me just to be comfortable and be myself.”

We didn’t get to talk for long, though, as Danielle was called in for her interview. Afterwards, she walked out smiling, feeling it had gone well.

“They asked me who I would pick if I were in their shoes.” Danielle chose Sara Puckett, who was sponsored by the Spirit Masters. “She knows how to be an ambassador for the university,” she explained.

Afterwards, we walked over to the banners to examine them. Danielle asked me which my favorite was, and I pointed to one that I thought was particularly well done. It wasn’t the one Alpha Delta Pi had created, but Danielle didn’t seem at all fussed by it.

Thursday: Chili, Cheese and Chitchat

The banquet room of the Presbyterian Church, on State Street, was crowded with people, many of whom were wearing WKU red and white sweatshirts, contrasting with the maroon walls, which put me in mind of EKU—decidedly not the feeling the organizers intended, I’m sure. Walking in, I’m greeted by a girl dressed as Wendy, the namesake of Wendy’s, who is the official corporate sponsor of the Chili and Cheese Luncheon. A Homecoming tradition for at least 15 years, the Chili and Cheese luncheon is “the kickoff to Homecoming in Bowling Green,” according to Ginny Hensley, the Director of Alumni Programming.

A casual event, Danielle—dressed in a gray long-sleeved WKU tee shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes, sits with a number of other Homecoming Queen candidates, eating Wendy’s chili a chatting merrily. From time to time she’s given instructions by one of the organizers, including student affairs graduate assistant Diane DeRosa-Reynolds (herself the 2008 Homecoming Queen) and the coordinator for leadership and volunteerism at WKU, Hunter Williams.

Eventually, the candidates are told to get up as they’re taken out of the room to line up. This is one of the many times throughout the week that these women will be introduced to a crowd, and Danielle is calm, if anxious. “I didn’t realize this many people would be here,” she says. “I feel honored. There’s a bunch of big names here.”