The 2012 Homecoming king and queen have been crowned.

Ashley Anderson, senior elementary education major, and Paul Julion, junior physical education major, won the title of Homecoming queen and king for Homecoming court Friday. The Homecoming court results were announced at a bonfire near Anderson Hall, where the Huskie Pride parade had ended.

The Homecoming queen and king are elected by student votes and display leadership abilities. Both candidates were part of National Pan-Hellenic Council organizations.

There were 730 ballots cast in this year’s election. Last year’s elections had nearly 1,100 ballots cast.

Before the winners were announced, Anderson said she was full of anxiety.

“I was numb,” Anderson said. “I couldn’t hear anything.”

Anderson said she was excited by her new role and she hopes to set goals for students.

Julion said he was nervous as well, but he was trying not to think about it before the results were announced. When he found out he was Homecoming king, he felt humbled.

“I feel privileged and honored,” Julion said. “I now plan to promote students to get involved and take care of business.”

Julion said he wants to use his Homecoming king title to help more students get involved on campus.

In order to quality for Homecoming king and queen, candidates needed to be a full-time student during the fall semester with either a sophomore, junior, senior or graduate standing, according to the Homecoming 2012 Information and Application packet. Undergraduate candidates also needed a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7 and graduate candidates needed a GPA of 3.0. Candidates also needed to attend Homecoming events like the Kick-Off Rally, Yell Like Hell and the football game Saturday.

According to an Oct. 8, 2007, Northern Star article, Chasity Simon, then-vice president of programming for the Campus Activities Board, said the homecoming king and queen get to represent NIU in a positive manner.

Students Association President Delonte LeFlore said he was excited about the winners and the continuation of the Homecoming legacy. After the announcement of the Homecoming court results, the students celebrated with a volleyball game and a bonfire.