Over the years I've not been shy about declaring my pride as an alum of mighty George Mason University.  You know, the school that knocked the Heels out of the 2006 NCAA tournament?  My alma mater was so unaccustomed to the spotlight that they had to scramble to write a fight song for the run to the Final Four. Well, Mason's been busy building its national reputation for years by hiring big name faculty and going on a building spree that has turned it into one of the best campuses in the mid-Atlantic region, if not the east coast.  Now Mason is set to make the national scene again for a reason I don't think anyone could have anticipated: last week the student body elected a drag queen as homecoming queen.  From The Washington Post:

Spend time with George Mason University senior Ryan Allen and it's clear why he's a Big Man on Campus. He wears size 12 pumps.

Allen, who is gay and performs as a popular drag queen at local clubs, assumed the title of Ms. Mason. He was wearing a green-and-gold bow, sewn for him by the theater department costume's shop, that was visible even from the cheap seats, a sequined top, a black skirt and heels. Ricky Malebranche, a junior from Woodbridge, was named Mr. Mason…

Allen said he decided to enter the Ms. Mason contest this year as a joke, a last hurrah for his senior year. Soon he had donned a silver bra and zebra-print pants and was lip-syncing to Britney Spears's "Womanizer" at the qualifying pageant Feb. 9, overseen by Miss Virginia 2009. Competitors included a government and politics major from Chesapeake and a Chi Omega sorority member who told the school newspaper she should win because "I have pride in Mason to the point where my towels are green and gold."

Allen's drag name?  Reann Ballslee.