The headline says it all: “Shelter-in-place lifted at Monmouth University after curling iron mistaken for weapon” (ABC News Online, March 23).
Don’t fret, Monmouth. You have plenty of company in the mistaken-identity sweepstakes. Consider these three incidents from just the past 30 days:
March 2nd: At Oklahoma State University, a ripe avocado left on a tray in the dining commons was mistaken for a live hand grenade by Mildred Urf, a 72-year-old cashier beloved by students. Yelling “Save yourselves!” Ms. Urf sprinted toward the tray and jumped, smothering the avocado with her stomach. She suffered a severe navel bruise and was later awarded the school’s Badge of Courage by OSU President Kayse Shrum.
March 14th: Three varsity football players at Louisiana State University, unhappy with their limited playing time last season, mistook a manhole cover on a campus street for the transfer portal to Auburn University. They proceeded to remove the cover and descend into LSU’s extensive sewer system. They were found six days later, “stinking to high heaven,” according to the school’s police chief. “There’s not enough AXE Body Spray in the entire universe to get them smelling decent again.”
March 22nd: An adjunct instructor at the College of William and Mary was mistaken for a tenure-track faculty member and allowed to sit in the “Professorial Section” at a campus-wide meeting. When the error was discovered, the instructor, a male, resisted being relocated to the block of seats reserved for part-time faculty and women at the rear of the auditorium. A scuffle ensued and an officer was bitten, but it’s not clear by whom. The incident is currently under investigation.
QUICK!!! Is that thing in the middle of the quad a stray Birkenstock sandal or an Improvised Explosive Device???