How would you feel if your school had a Homecoming King that was a female? Students at Maryland’s Hood College are dealing with that right now.

I was quite surprised when I read this article on MSNBC.com. While some members of the campus at Hood College are supportive, the recent announcement of Jennifer Jones, a lesbian, as Homecoming King has sparked some debate on the campus.

Now, y’all know I love me some Carolina. My alma mater does a good job of being diverse and accepting of all people, regardless of their background, beliefs, and preferences. While it still has a ways to go, I can only imagine what would happen if we were at the Homecoming game, and Mr. UNC turned out to be a “Ms.”.

On the Hood College website, it says it’s “A Great Place to be Smart”. Well, I’m sure it is. It’s a college. Apparently it’s just not a great place to be a lesbian. Especially if you plan to run in the Homecoming races.

So…readers of this blog, what do y’all think? What are the real issues here? My sociological background would say that it doesn’t matter if her biological gender is a female because gender is socially constructed anyway- so she (Jennifer Jones) could have been socially constructed to be more of a man depending on the environment that she grew up in. I know it sounds far fetched, and I don’t agree with it…but, I’m just telling you what a potential argument could be. Other thoughts and comments welcome…

In October 2005, our nation stopped to mourn the death of Rosa Parks, the mother of the Civil Rights Movement. Parks, known for her quiet demeanor and steadfast strength, refused to give up her seat on a bus in Birmingham, Alabama- thus starting the Birmingham Bus Boycott in December 1955.

When Parks died, we saw a lot of fanfare surrounding her death, perhaps because of the lack of fanfare surrounding others who died during the movement. While the nation mourned the loss of Martin and Medgar, and even Malcolm; there was not any type of national mourning comparable to what we saw with the death of Rosa Parks, and most recently, with the death of Mrs. Coretta Scott King.

That said, imagine my surprise when I saw this article on MSNBC.com with a headline that says “Premium charged for plots near Parks”. The article goes on to say that prior to Parks’ death, the cost for a plot in the cemetery was around $17,000. Now, to be buried around Parks’ family plot in the cemetery, you could expect to pay anywhere from $24,000 to $65,000.

Am I the only one that thinks that is ridiculous? How much of a selling point can that be? I can’t imagine going to bury my family in this cemetery and they say something to the effect of, “And for just an extra $7000 you could be buried close to Rosa Parks.” I think that it’s wrong to capitalize on Parks’ legacy; especially when you are taking advantage of the bereaved.

What is our country coming to? This issue isn’t anywhere near one of the main issues on America’s spectrum. However, it took years for us to truly honor Parks’ and other Civil Rights leaders. To this day, we still have problems honoring our local leaders who spawned incredible grassroots movements that helped to shape this nation during the Civil Rights Movement as well. You can’t put a price on their legacy. I wish someone would tell that to the management company of the cemetery in Detroit.