Neil Gladstone article on anti-gay bias on llege mp, and 'sensivy trag' at some schools and aterni; activi of gay aterny, Delta Lambda Phi, also scribed; photos (M)
Contents:
- THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF AN AMERIN FRATERNY
- GAY FRATERNY BROTHER?
- GAY BROTHERHOOD: ANTHIS OF THE 'ANIMAL HOE' DNKEN EXCS
- GAY MEN FACE CHALLENG WH U.'S ATERNI
- GAY HISTORY OF MEN’S FRATERNI
THE SECRET GAY HISTORY OF AN AMERIN FRATERNY
A Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer/qutng/Same Genr Lovg aterny or sorory is a Greek Letter Organizatn which exists for service and fellowship wh those muni.
No, this is a story about thgs I saw and heard and experienced, but don’t end wh me steppg bravely forward and proudly clarg my homosexualy to the world and fdg my place . Afterward, my broad-shoulred stoner iend sually told Jason that “What we did was okay, bee I heard you have to do three tim wh a guy to make you gay.
GAY FRATERNY BROTHER?
In the aterny which I belonged, a small subset of iends began referrg to the annual fall visatn of alumni as “Homog Weekend.
GAY BROTHERHOOD: ANTHIS OF THE 'ANIMAL HOE' DNKEN EXCS
By the time I graduated 1987, I had been through a few Homog Weekends and taken the long walk wh several of my olr aterny brothers, who would awkwardly nfs to beg gay. But he left no doubt that he was totally gay, and ma me unfortable when he looked to my ey wh that perceptive visn of his. “But the guy’s a homosexual, and there are guys who say they’re gog blackball him to prevent him om gettg a bid, ” I was told.
And after all, if I took a strong posn on the matter, someone might assume I was gay, and I was not gog to let that happen! Much later Marc would fd out I was gay too, spe my self-protective measur, and he would be very supportive, god bls him. Stori of the “gay murr” Lock Haven, Pennsylvania appeared everywhere, and were read by lns the big cy newspapers Philalphia and Ptsburgh.
GAY MEN FACE CHALLENG WH U.'S ATERNI
Well, I don’t want to overstate , but ’s clear that Mike – like most gay people – had been eply and adversely effected by the closet s and homophob that surround him.
The same year I belatedly disvered that soon after Mike Hoeknecht was found ad on mp, a gay and lbian support group was formed at LHU. It stands to reason, however, that such a high-profile tragedy would galvanize the gay muny and lead to the formatn of such a group. In 1992, when I found out about LHU’s gay and lbian group, I told myself that if such a group were loted near my home New Jersey, I would jo right away.
The guys that elected their first openly gay print would have had no ia about the experienc of Mike Hoeknecht four or five years before that.
GAY HISTORY OF MEN’S FRATERNI
And the guys the aterny today would probably be surprised to hear that they were once prid over by one of only two openly gay men on mp at that time. 8Rh: Memoir of a Gay Sorory Girl8Rh: Memoir of a Gay Sorory GirlKrist Griffh's memoir tails her experience as a gay woman om Texas a Midwtern sorory the '90s, and her g-out journey as she navigated the heteronormative landspe of Greek life. The qutn of whether I would even be accepted to a aterny if I am gay has always been on my md for a while wh nobody to answer for me, nsirg that anybody I talk to on a regular basis don’t seem all that terted jog a aterny/sorory.
So, about me, I don’t want to sound like that I am stereotypg myself or anythg, but I do have a lot of quali and tras that what society would expect om a gay guy. Not only that, if I manage to get a bid, I would want to be a role mol and let other gay men and women know that, y, you n jo aterni/sorori, regardls of your sexualy.
I have also known a uple brothers who were gay, but did not reveal to anyone but a few of the guys they were clost wh the aterny. Columbia Universy stunts have formed the Straight-Gay Alliance and the Homophobia Task Force, and the Universy of Southern California has started Speakg Out, a program to enurage disurse.