Administrators at the University of Minnesota have dropped the traditional “King and Queen” labels for their annual homecoming weekend for the genderless “royals” term.
Officials at the University of Minnesota have also announced that the biological sex of the winners is irrelevant. The newly crowned “royals” at the university’s next homecoming event “can be any combination of any gender identity.”
Homecoming this year at the University of Minnesota will be held October 15-21. Recentl students have been invited to apply to be crowned a royal for the 2017 event.
“This change allows the University to select the best student representatives for the U of M based on campus and community involvement — regardless of gender,” the Homecoming website states.
According to the website, the title of “royal” will be awarded to two students “who respectfully represents the University’s values, connects with the diverse members of the University community, and has excellent school pride.”
“As in past years, the U will name 10 students to Homecoming court, only this year the mix won’t necessarily be five men and five women. Those 10 will be paired at random to compete in pre-Homecoming events, and their performance, along with a university-wide vote, will determine the two royals,” the Pioneer Press reports.
Allyson Taubenheim, the university’s marketing manager for Student Unions & Activities, argued that the change will allow the school’s diverse student body to be better represented at homecoming. “We are excited about this change,” she added. “Our student body is made up of a very diverse population that shouldn’t be limited by gender identity. Other colleges, universities and even high schools have made similar changes. We look forward to crowning two students who respectfully represent the university’s values, connect with the diverse members of the university community, and have excellent school pride.”
Tom Ciccotta is a libertarian who writes about education and social justice for Breitbart News. You can follow him on Twitter @tciccotta or email him at tciccotta@breitbart.com
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.