On Friday, there was an article in the Washington Post which, by the weekend, was featured in many local newspapers around the country. The article was about the George Mason Homecoming Queen who was crowned during halftime of the basketball game Saturday evening. The “queen” is actually a 22-year old gay man who performs as a drag queen. This is being touted by many as a victory for inclusiveness. 

Was inclusiveness really the reason the student body at George Mason voted Ryan Allen (a.k.a. Reann Ballslee) as their “queen?” With their votes, were these young adults really trying to break another societal shackle restricting life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for their fellow students who choose to live life a little differently than the rest of us?

I may be wrong, but I honestly believe these students’ motives were a little less principled. I believe most of the students probably thought it would be funny to elect a drag queen as their homecoming queen; it was a joke. Unfortunately, the joke isn’t really funny. 

While some may claim victory, there are no winners in this situation. The university has become a joke and Ryan has become the punch line. I’m not sure what kind of personal darkness leads a man to dress like a woman and perform in seedy nightclubs, but we can only hope that Ryan finds his way out of that darkness before it consumes him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/19/AR2009021901780.html?hpid=sec-education