Homecoming week is here, and members of the Sweet 16 are busy with their responsibilities to represent the homecoming court and school.

Student council co-adviser Chris Torda is in charge of organizing the Sweet 16 and making sure they complete their responsibilities. He said, “[The Sweet 16] are the ones that go down the parade and they are the main ones getting recognized aside from the sports teams. We have an assembly just for them, and they go down the football field to get recognized again, so really, it kinda revolves around them.”

Members of the Sweet 16 have to dress nicely every day in school, participate in the bonfire, assembly, the football game, and of course, go to the dance.

Torda and the student council give the 16 pairs these responsibilities for a reason. He said, “It’s their event, it’s a tradition of Mayfield. It’s them feeling a sense of belonging and something special, so they need to immerse themselves into the event.”

Senior Mykenna Roy is also a member of the Sweet 16. She said, “I do enjoy these responsibilities because I was voted in to complete them, so I feel this honor in doing them. I have found this week to be very enjoyable thus far, and I’m excited to see everyone else’s dances and dresses for the assembly.”

Torda and the student council hold the Sweet 16 to a higher standard by setting requirements to even apply to run for Sweet 16. “It’s something special that they are getting recognized as people who are representatives of Mayfield, and they have to be among the best. We want people who have good grades, good attendance, and good school spirit, and that’s what we are looking for,” he said.

These responsibilities help to encourage people to run for the Sweet 16 and homecoming court, according to Torda. Roy said, “I remember watching the Sweet 16 go through the homecoming parade and assemblies when I was a freshman and sophomore, and it looked like it was so much fun to be a part of. I loved how the girls got to dress up and do a fun dance and I told myself I wanted to do that my senior year, so here I am.”

Senior Andrew Suster, another member of the Sweet 16, plans on making this homecoming one to remember. He said, “I enjoy our responsibilities because it’s something special that this group gets to participate in. Looking back on it in the future we all will remember the memories we make and this event is one of them”

The Sweet 16 can be seen at this afternoon assembly starting at 1:05pm, as well as tomorrow’s home football game at 7:00pm.