By Stacy Hinojosa
On Oct. 22, an accident-prone BYU freshman injured his leg, prompting approximately 25 male students to shave theirs.
Jonny Neeley, a resident on the 1200 floor of Stover Hall, suffered a deep cut on his right shin while jumping off a wall outside the Cannon Center in Helaman Halls.
'We were seeing how high, or far away from the wall we could jump,' said Neeley, 18, from Los Angeles. 'One of my attempts wasn''t so successful.'
BYU paramedics treated the injury with a wraparound butterfly bandage.
'In patching it up, they had to shave my leg so the patch would stick,' said Neeley. 'Due to my excessive amount of leg hair.'
In a bold act of solidarity, Neeley''s friend, Jimmy Griffiths enacted a tribute to Jonny by shaving a three-inch strip around his right leg and writing ''Jonny' on it in black marker.
Griffiths, a freshman from Lodi, Calif., said he wanted to do something special for Jonny to acknowledge his friend''s less-than-perfect track record.
'I think Jonny''s a great guy and he deserves all he can get, especially after all that''s been going down for him,' said Griffiths, referring to the multiple other injuries Neeley has suffered since arriving at BYU including a split toe, dislocated shoulder and broken hand.
'I wouldn''t be surprised if he got injured again,' said Griffiths. 'But I don''t know if we''ll go any further than this as far as tributes go.'
As could be expected, the trend was slow to catch on, but now the majority of the floor has picked up razors and followed suit.
'We have two foreign students on our floor that probably don''t even know my name that did it,' said Neeley. 'They know my name now though because it''s written on their leg.'
Nate ''Squeetch'' Black, the floor resident assistant said the act shows a great deal of camaraderie and floor spirit.
'It''s a cohesive group,' Black said. 'Kind of off the wall, but it''s pretty funny.'
Neely said he appreciates the support he has received and his leg is healing nicely.
'I feel honored that the guys shaved their legs for me,' said Neeley. 'It made my week; no, it made my year.'