An Illinois high school just announced its 2026 homecoming king and queen candidates — listing them all on one undifferentiated slate — while police in a neighboring town confiscated 650 rolls of toilet paper from masked teens turning a tradition into a property-damage spree. The two stories share a root: homecoming, an institution ordinary Americans remember as straightforward, now straining under cultural and behavioral pressure.
Hall High School in Spring Valley named 20 candidates for homecoming king and queen, per Shaw Local Enewspapers. The candidates include Jocelyn King, Avery Sondgeroth, Brianna Bustos, Kassy Lopez, Addison Sherman, Mia Wenzel, Ava Delphi, Leah Burkart, Carline Morris, Nina Zamora, Alex Tucker, Jude Becker, Bobby Rios, Jett Moreland, Geno Ferrari, Colton Crowther, Kamani Power, Brody Bosi, Joseph Perez and Evan Vecchia. The school still uses the words "king" and "queen." But the candidates are presented as a single pool, not sorted by court. In an era where the word "queen" itself is under scrutiny from gender ideologues, the absence of a clear designation — these are the boys running for king, these are the girls running for queen — is the kind of quiet shift that doesn't announce itself until the tradition is gone.
The class attendants, by contrast, are listed in male-female pairs: freshman Matthew Gabler and Alexa Becker, sophomores Miles Ponce and Bernadette Larsen, juniors Ethan Luna and Jayla Turnage, and seniors David Luna, Lyla Clayton and Hunter Buettner. The king and queen will be announced at the Oct. 1 pep rally.
Twenty miles south, Plainfield police had a different homecoming problem. Officers intercepted what Fox News described as a "massive toilet paper stash" — 650 rolls — headed for homes near Plainfield North High School. Masked groups of 20 to 25 teenagers, rolling up in multiple vehicles, hit residences with toilet paper, eggs, ketchup and detergent pods. Some targets were families with small children or residents with no connection to the school at all.
Plainfield police had warned students ahead of time that pranks involving trespassing or property damage could bring criminal charges. "'It was just a prank' doesn't erase the consequences," the department posted. The homecoming calls pulled officers from a structure fire, a DUI arrest, crash responses and a mental health crisis. "In short, we DO have better things to do," police wrote.
No arrests or charges had been announced as of the Fox News report.
Two schools, two symptoms. One blurs the line between king and queen; the other blurs the line between tradition and vandalism. Both raise the question that matters to ordinary Americans: who is minding the institution when the adults step back?
