Hear ye, hear ye: For the first time in school history, the Northwestern Homecoming Committee will allow underclassmen to apply for seats on its royal court. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors will be allowed to represent the student body at events throughout six days of Homecoming celebrations, but only seniors will be allowed to compete for the titles of Homecoming king and queen.

“This year we thought it was important to incorporate as many different groups as possible, and one group we thought that was always left out was the underclassmen,” said Jay Schumacher, Homecoming committee co-chairman and a Communication junior.

Students with royal ambitions can find applications for the court through HereAndNow or at the Norris University Center front desk. Because of problems with the royal court Web site, the deadline for applications now is Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. Homecoming is Oct. 24-29.

Candidates should be “highly motivated students that are not just looking for something on their resume,” said Jessica Lowe, royal court committee co-chairwoman and a Communication junior. Philanthropic experience will help, she said.

Potential monarchs must be nominated by another student. Five selected couples will have their photos and biographies posted online, where students will vote for their king and queen. The top six candidates will join the court and receive makeovers from Art + Science. They also will attend a coronation ceremony at Ryan Field, where the king and queen will be announced at halftime during the football game against the University of Michigan.

According to Schumacher, the selection committees won’t be casting for looks.

“When I looked through the archives, the Homecoming queen basically looked like Miss America, and I would hope that today the student body isn’t as superfluous,” Schumacher said.

Reach Jordan Weissmann at [email protected].