Gary (nerd)

Gary is one of three nerds that Homer met at Springfield University. He is African-American and wears glasses with rectangular lenses.

History
Homer got Gary and his roommates and  to play a prank on Springfield A&M, a rival school. They kidnapped A&M's mascot, a pig named Sir Oinks-A-Lot, and brought him back to Springfield University. Homer then got the pig drunk by splitting a case of malt liquor with him, and the pig passed out. Dean Peterson heard the noise from the pig falling over and caught the nerds red-handed with the drunken pig. Due to the influence of Sir Oinks-A-Lot's powerful friends, Peterson was forced to expel the three nerds. Homer, however, got off scot-free because the dean didn't actually catch him with the pig.

Out of guilt, Homer invited the nerds to stay in the Simpson home, where they quickly got on the whole family's nerves. Homer ended up confessing everything to the dean and the nerds were re-admitted to school, much to the Simpsons' relief. Benjamin and his roommates later helped Homer to "Cram like you've never crammed before!" for his Nuclear Physics 101 final. When Homer failed the exam, they changed his grade (albeit reluctantly due to ethical concerns) to an A by hacking into the college's database. Marge then made Homer retake the class, so he could set a good example for the children by passing the class honestly. While Homer re-took the class, Homer shoved the trio of nerds (along with several other students) into a phone booth, and they later played football while in a Tank.

The trio later built a sophisticated model rocket for Homer when Homer got tired of being upstaged at model rocketry by Ned Flanders. Unfortunately, the nerds' rocket proved to be an even more spectacular failure than Homer's previous attempts when it went off course and crashed into the First Church of Springfield.

Trivia

 * It's implied that Gary has ear problems, as he mentioned to Homer before the ill-fated road trip that Gary spilled his ear medicine.

Behind the Laughter
He is a caricature of Rich Moore with black skin. Prior to "Homer Goes to College" an identical caricature (except with yellow skin) made cameos in the early seasons of the show.

Gary's comment about the "magic xylophone" has become something of an internet meme that is used when someone acts nerdy and points out a flaw in something.