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The University of Nebraska at Omaha will name its homecoming royalty tonight, but it won’t call the pair “king” and “queen.”

UNO has joined a small but growing group of colleges and high schools across the nation that are moving to gender-neutral homecoming royalty to be more inclusive of transgender students and others who don’t identify themselves in conventional ways when it comes to gender.

The trend reflects a desire on the part of schools to show that they are safe and open to all, a message that ultimately could boost enrollments, some say. The trend is evident from the University of Wisconsin-Stout to a high school in Ashland, Oregon.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney for the first time this fall allowed men to run for queen and women to run for king, but nobody chose to do so, said Todd Gottula, a UNK spokesman.

The University of Iowa for the first time made its homecoming court and royalty gender-neutral. Iowa chose two women as its royalty.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln selects homecoming royalty in the traditional manner, but the process will be reviewed in the near future, said Marlene Beyke, director of administration for UNL student government.