October 5, 2009
Texas U. Student Council: No Gay Couples at Homecoming
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
The student council of The University of North Texas has barred gay and lesbian couples from running for election as Homecoming King and Queen.
An Oct. 5 article at the Dallas Morning News reported that the university's student government had contemplated changing the bylaws of the Student Government Association to allow same-sex couples to compete for the distinction, but the proposal was defeated.
The article cited one student government member, Jason Howeth, as saying that his reason for voting against the change was that graduates of the university had said they would no longer send donations; moreover, some parents had claimed that should the rules for Homecoming King and Queen be changed, they would yank their children from the university.
Howeth pointed out the the existing rules still allow gays and lesbians to try to get elected to a "court position" in the ranks of homecoming royalty.
Another student government member, Hunter Nelson, spoke against the vote's result, saying, "Right now, we're limiting that by keeping the status quo with the Homecoming court requirements.
"We're limiting students' chances and that's not fair," Nelson continued.
"It should be equality for all."
The university's rules governing who may compete for the titles of Homecoming King and Queen fall short of the rules established elsewhere. At a Los Angeles high school for example, a young man, Sergio Garcia, claimed the drown for Homecoming Queen, according to a Newsday.com item from last May 29.
And in Utah, though the University of Utah has not had a male Homecoming Queen, it does offer students of all orientations a chance to participate in the "Mr. USU" pageant, with a contestant from the GLBT student population competing along with students from various study disciplines, transfer students, and fraternity members.
Gay homecoming kings have made headlines for years, such as openly gay Kansas high school student Matthew Pope, who was accorded the honor by his schoolmates two years ago.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
