What's with Homecoming being such a funsuck this year in Missouri? First, Homecoming was canceled for students at Westport High when their campus was closed. Then, students at Truman High weren't allowed to grind at their Homecoming dance. Now, Missouri's Homecoming fun-vac has entered the realm of higher education.
A Homecoming float constructed jointly by two student groups at the University of Central Missouri -- Queers and Allies and Association of Black Collegians -- was found vandalized early on Saturday morning, just hours before the Homecoming parade. Homophobic slurs and images were found spray-painted all over the float that was parked outside a student's house.
Students were able to remove the words from the float and enter it in time for the competition, although the float didn't win any awards.
Jeff Murphy, assistant director of university relations for media relations, says the words were aimed solely at the LGBT group. "It is an incident that we take very seriously."
In a campus-wide e-mail, university president Chuck Ambrose said, "The UCM community can be assured that this type of homophobic and hateful behavior will not be tolerated on a campus that is a safe, open, and just community."
Police continue to investigate and are calling the act a hate crime. There are no suspects yet, but with the help of a little Homecoming hate-dar, the haters should soon come to light.
Showing 1-2 of 2
