Homecoming King Suspended After Abdicating in Protest Against Elitism

A high school senior elected Homecoming king has publicly renounced his crown in what he described as a political statement about elitism, drawing cheers and jeers from classmates and a prompt two-day suspension from his school’s administration.

Patrick Griffiths, 17, of Mira Costa High School, took his dramatic action moments after he and a queen had been crowned in front of a football game crowd of 5,000 Friday night. Griffiths took off his crown, placed it on the ground and walked off the field.

He maintains he was trying to draw attention to the superficiality of the homecoming royalty tradition. “I wanted to send the message you’re not out there alone if you’re a freak,” Griffiths said Wednesday.

He said schools need to foster more tolerance and inclusion, and that homecoming contests do not achieve those goals.

“You may not be popular, but who is popular? There’s about 10% that’s popular and about 90% that’s not. There’s plenty of us out there that are not, so maybe we shouldn’t be encouraging these contests,” said Griffiths, a vocal nonconformist who frequently dresses all in black and wears a long ponytail of blond- and black-streaked hair.

He participates in an animal rights group, the school’s academic decathlon and student government and works at a video store.

He ran for and was elected to the homecoming honor.

Principal Lynn McCormack said Griffiths’ actions took the entire staff by surprise. “Our school has many avenues for change, and many of these avenues are student driven. But no one ever came to us before and said they were not happy with homecoming,” she said.

She declined to specify the terms of Griffiths’ suspension, saying it is school policy not to comment on disciplinary actions.

McCormack likened Griffiths’ renunciation to that of Al Gore or George Bush if they were to refuse the presidency after their supporters spent hours and hours working for their election. Some students noted that they were not swayed by traditional in-crowd notions in choosing Griffiths and homecoming Queen Sarah Hicks, who also stressed individuality in her campaign.