Maha Madi often wears a hijab.
She might get a tiara to go with it.
Madi, who is Muslim, is one of four finalists for homecoming queen at Wichita State University.
The queen and king will be announced Saturday during WSU's homecoming basketball game against the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Muslims in national political campaigns seem to inspire heated rhetoric.
Muslims in Wichita and on the campus have sometimes received hate mail.
But at WSU? A young Muslim woman vying for homecoming queen while wearing a hijab?
No big deal.
And that is as it should be, Madi said.
"I'm a little nervous, but it's kind of a cool experience," she said.
Nominations for king and queen come from the entire student body, along with the vote that follows. This isn't the only time Madi's name has bubbled up into a position of student prominence. She was president for a year of WSU's Student Ambassador Society, which recruits students for WSU.
The queen named on Saturday will get a tiara, a Tiffany's necklace, a sash – and the honor of being homecoming queen at WSU, said Courtney Marshall, director of Wichita State University's Alumni Association. The association manages the king and queen vote.
Madi has been "snagging friends" in spare minutes from studying, telling them, "Hey, come vote!" Students get to vote for king and queen at the Rhatigan Student Center in the week leading up to the homecoming game, Marshall said.
Madi knows she'll get some votes.
She's got a lot of friends.
Some are Muslim.
Some are not.
She's glad about her Muslim faith.
And she's glad to be American, too.
WSU homecoming
Candidates for WSU homecoming king: Benjamin Varenhorst, Michael Schultz, Tim Eichier, Dalton Glasscock
Candidates for WSU homecoming queen: Ashlyn Funston, Whitney Wilson, Maha Madi, Brittany De Hoyos
