The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, April 12, 1996, Image 3

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FRIDAY
April 12, 1996
Expressing true
self creates
true happiness
A sliver of
a line
sepa
rates what we
ought to be (or
what others
expect us to
be) from what
we really are.
Occasional
ly, we venture to that “ought to be” side.
Some think they should be one way because it
is better; others think they should be an al
ternative way because that is what is expect
ed of them.
Soon, we lose all sense of reality; we for
get ourselves entirely and — to compensate
— construct new identities, new feelings,
new lives.
But the person that was there before never
dies. It is still there, molding and shaping our
beliefs and tinting our view of our surround
ings and our world.
I (more than once) have teetered on that
line. The first time, my blackness was the bal
ancing rod. The reality was that I was black
(and still am), I grew up in the Lower Ninth
Ward of New Orleans (not a sterling neigh
borhood), and I was poor (donations accept
ed). Therefore, I had few choices.
Stereotypes dictated that I should have
been a felon, a high school dropout or dead by
the hands of another.
Of course, I’m none of those things. I deter
mined and fulfilled those things I wanted to
become, not what stereotypes told me I
should have been.
The second time I stood on that line, my
gayness was the balancing rod. In this situa
tion, I had many choices. Do I tell my friends?
Do I tell my future roommate? Do I go to a
gay organization’s meeting? What if someone
sees me there? Then came the clincher: Do I
tell my parents?
My Southern Baptist upbringing answered
a host of my questions. I really wasn’t gay,
someone just tricked me. I must have been
molested when I was younger. My mother
probably was too dominant a figure in my
household. I just needed a good woman.
To most of the above questions, I checked
off “no.” Then I found as many good women as
I could. Nothing. I was amazed that I actually
got through it.
Then I turned to God — the popular last
resort. The church pivoted my daily existence.
I tried to make every action, every word,
every syllable magnify the glory of God. I
thought even the letters would do.
The church, my parents and my family
kept saying that I — being gay — should be
unhappy. And I was unhappy, but not be
cause I was gay, but because I wasn’t satis
fied. Nothing seemed right. The only way I
could be happy, it seemed, was if I admitted
my being gay to myself and to my friends.
Fortunately, I was fairly lucky. I went to a
socially liberal high school in a very liberal
city. Gay people were all over the place, and
getting information about gay issues was
easy. In addition, my first roommate when I
came to A&M was also gay, so he also steered
me in the right directions.
But gay people come from all walks of life,
and some are more comfortable with their
sexuality than others.
Gays are black, white, Hispanic, Asian,
Christian, atheist, Muslim, conservative,
liberal and any other thing you can think
of, and these subgroups also affect their
views on homosexuality.
But being gay isn’t the depressing, danger
ous or disgusting “lifestyle” that some would
have us to believe.
What is depressing, dangerous and dis
gusting is when a group dictates how a per
son should be instead of letting them be who
they really are.
H.L. Baxter is a junior geography major
GGIE
t j Jr# If II
Page 3
^ ^ _ ^ : 4/
Out of the closet, into the light
Gay Awareness Week aims to open minds to homosexuals
By Libe Goad and john LeBas
The Battalion
B eing gay once meant that a person was living a
happy and contented life. But today, few would
use the word to describe the feeling one gets on
a perfect spring day with nothing to worry about.
“Gay” means something else entirely. It now bet
ter describes the population of people who prefer
same-sex relationships.
And gays, lesbians and bisexuals are working to
wards living a gay life, in the old-fashioned sense —-
free to live their lifestyle in an accepting environment.
Society is divided over whether sexual orienta
tion is a personal choice or determined before birth.
The Supreme Court is now deciding on Roemer
v. Evans, a lawsuit involving a Colorado state con
stitution amendment that strips gays and lesbians
of discrimination protection.
Gays in the military also linger as a potentially
volatile issue.
Gay, lesbian and bisexual students at A&M are
not immune to these national debates.
Continually striving to foster tolerance and a
spirit of cooperation among the heterosexual com
munity, gay Aggies have spent the last few days
celebrating Gay Awareness Week ’96.
Melissa Wallace, a staff member of Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual Aggies and a senior sociology major,
said Gay Awareness Week is intended for the edu
cation of heterosexuals on gay issues.
“Gay Awareness Week is not for gay people,”
Wallace said. “It’s for those who are not gay. It’s
simply an educational avenue.”
GLBA brings in special speakers for the event,
she said, to discuss legal and societal problems gay
people face.
Wallace said the week has helped improve
awareness of gays on campus.
“There’s a more visible support base,” she said.
“Lots of straights join in to show we’re normal. It’s
nonviolent, peaceful education.”
Wallace said that despite the conservative at
mosphere at A&M, general sentiment toward gays
is not as negative as some people
might think.
Lance Brister, a
sophomore sociology
major, has experi
enced a similar sen
timent on campus.
“I haven’t had
a single negative
experience,”
Brister said.
“Even though
A&M is very
cons erv a -
tive, I
think
it’s
pret-
t y
friendly
in general.”
Jay Hooks, a
freshman general
studies major, said
trying to breach neg
ativity on campus is
important because any
one of an Aggie’s rela
tives, friends or fellow students
could be gay.
“Gay Awareness Week is im
portant because it shows that
there are people at A&M who are
gay,” Hooks said. “It’s not even
saying, ‘We’re here,’ but it lets
people know we could be anybody.
We’re just like everyone else — we just happen to
be gay.”
Gay awareness march sur
passes expectations
Wednesday at noon, gays and heterosexuals gath
ered at Rudder fountain for a rally and march spon
sored by ALLY. The march, which Wallace said would
be the “most telling” day of Gay Awareness Week, was
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a show of gay pride and solidarity on campus.
According to Hooks, turnout was better
than expected — a good sign of the
week’s effects.
Jeff Anderson, president of GLBA
and an education graduate student,
spoke at the rally about the challenges
he and other gay students face.
Anderson told of a
friend to whom
he came out
last year.
He hasn’t
spoken
to his
friend
since.
T# our
^ granted,” he said. “We
can’t take our families for granted, our jobs, our
education or even our religion.
“These are the things that we need to make peo
ple aware of. So as we join hands here and walk
across campus, you need to think of how you can ex
plain to people you know how they should not take
certain things for granted.”
Winston Jones, a student development special
ist in the Department of Student Life, also spoke
to the crowd gathered for the rally. Jones, a het
erosexual, said gay awareness is something that
involves everyone.
“I believe that we as a community must commu
nicate to those who are oppressed that this is not a
gay thing; it is not a lesbian thing; it is not an un
der-represented group thing, but it is an oppression
thing,” Jones said. “We all have a stake in this.
“I want more straight people to be out here and be
involved because there are more ‘straight’ people at
this University, and they should be involved in this.”
The crowd responded to Jones’ remarks
with whoops and applause.
Silence is sometimes
necessary on campus
The Aggie cheers are not so loud
from other homosexual students.
Many keep their lips shut, hold
ing their “other” lives from
fellow students.
“Brie,” who is an active
member in student activities, keeps his
other world behind closed doors.
“I don’t wear rings or publicize at all,”
Brie said.
He said he stays closed because there are many
misconceptions about gays, and people will either try
to convert him or shun him from their circles.
“It closes too many doors,” he said.
When he is among the gay community, Brie said
he openly talks about his homosexuality. He has
found many people to relate to at A&M.
“There’s a large gay community here,” he said.
“They’re in the Corps, fraternities, student
council, teachers.”
After spending time with the gay communi
ty, Brie found a growing number of people in
his same situation. But he said the “redneck
university” keeps people from being free to
be what they want.
“It’s not discussed,” he said, “and if it is,
it’s discussed in a derogatory manner.”
He said events on campus led him to
these conclusions.
Brie said that once he went to Rudder Auditori
um to watch the movie Threesome. Threesome,
which deals with different sexual issues, shows a
scene where a gay man kisses his straight friend.
A woman in the theater reacted to the homosexual
behavior and made a scene in front of the audience.
“Some girl got up and about threw up over the
whole audience,” he said. “I was thinking, ‘What did
you come here expecting to see?’”
Brie has also observed intolerant attitudes
among member of the religious right.
“The other day, I was by Rudder Tower, and
there was this conservative speaker saying that ho
mosexuals could not be Christians,” Brie said.
The religious right is one enemy the gay commu
nity targets. At events during Gay Awareness
Week, speakers spoke against the Christian majori-
the majority that refuses to
accept the homosexual lifestyle. Brie said
groups that think homosexuality is wrong do not
accept professed homosexuals in their circles.
Despite the homosexual revolt against Chris
tians, gay Christians are trying to close the gap be
tween religion and lifestyle. Brie and his friends
fight the battle between the two groups.
“Most of my close friends that are gay are all
Christians,” Brie said.
Once a week, Brie and his friends meet to study the
Bible and support others who are gay Christians.
“I think the two can be reconciled quite nicely,”
he said.
Homosexuals react strongly against intolerant
Christian groups because they constantly face op
position from them, he said.
Last semester, religious groups ran full-page adver
tisements featuring former gays and lesbians. The
message told the gay community that their lifestyle
was a choice and was another sign of opposition.
Brie said for some people homosex
uality is a choice, and for others
it is an unavoidable option.
He spoke of a woman who
joined an anti-gay commu
nity to change people’s
minds about homosexual
ity. After 20 years, she
admitted the people
were gay.
Brie said the woman
realized it was not a
choice, whether the gays
were Christian or not.
“She finally had to ac
cept the fact that that is the
way it works,” he said.
“Chad,” who is also a gay
Christian, said groups at A&M push
away gay Christians who are confused about
their faith.
“Almost every visible group is anti-gay,” Chad said.
“Then you get the feeling that everyone is like that.”
The same conservatism that attracts anti-gay
sentiment drew Chad to A&M and into the Corps.
He said he wanted to be disciplined by the Corps of
Cadets and the conservative atmosphere and to be in
a place that fosters old-fashioned values.
“I think people have this image of gay people that
they sleep around,” Chad said. “I know I don’t.”
Chad struggles with being a member of the Corps.
He joined, unaware of how unaccepting the military
was toward the gay lifestyle.
He said that since no one knows about his sexual
orientation, no harassment has come his way.
“But I think the potential’s there,” Chad said. “I
don’t try to mix the two lifestyles at all.”
Rumors about homosexuality are enough to start
sparks flying in the ranks. Rumors help people get
demoted in the Corps.
Brie said he had a friend who was thrown out of
the Corps after it found evidence he was gay.
Fighting anti-gay sentiment also lies on the per
sonal level. Homosexuals unsure of their belief sys
tem must make peace within.
The term “coming out” involves more than telling
friends and family. It means reconciling with oneself
about being a homosexual.
Brie said many gay people do not think they have
a choice in the matter. They are subjected to a life
time of fighting their desires or accepting them.
“Sometimes, it would be easier not to be gay,”
he said. “If I had a choice, that would be the easi
est choice.”
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