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THE LAST CIVIL RIGHTS FIGHT? v
Activism in the collegiate gay community reaches a new level
TrM Fromm* (toft) and nwmton of Qu**r Campua at U. of ttotewara Mpraaa gay prid*.
R\ Miilulc I hcl)uil\ Hamm. I .of Iciinrxxrr
Modeling iht*11 i.d in s
aftri i.idu .il oigani/atinns
like- yurri Nation, known
lot its militant shock value
ai none, these students liavr
adopted what thrs trier to
at an "ill vour-face" atti
tude
Frommr. a gav at imd,
oigam/rd a Qurri < ampus
i Itaptrr in ( h tolirt HWI at
the I ol Delaware
"Il wae getting to the
point where I was treling
mote radii a) measures were
nriTiMn Irrtaitsr the ion
sr tvativr route wasn't get
ting through." tie savs
I hr idea behind Queer
( a in p 11 s is to "support
ipierr pride and enjov our
selves while at the same
tune, using tn-voui -fat e'
methods to heterosexuals
and hoinophobu
I-1online saw
1 ol Delaware s Qurri
Campus organic rd a lienrfit
SK race for \I!)S research,
whrtr parttiipants dressed
in drag.
I lies also |>om lontiosri
sial liters t aming messages
like "Sue k tin k. lit k i lit,
homophobia's got to quit."
and "Hoinoxcxualilx. a tiuh
Creek tradition* with an
accompanying photo ol two
naked men kissing, with the
words "Ms brother tan Ink
sour brother."
fflorts like these base
elicited varied responses
from heterosexual students
Some claim the tactics arc
just plain offensive rather
Tres Fromme, a gav student at thr I’, of
Delaware, first came lace u> lac e with hetero
sexism when he was harassed lor kissing Im
boyfriend on campus I le wore a T-shirt with
the word "lag" on it; his friend wore a shirt
depicting two men kissing I wo passersbv
began mix king them — harassing them in a stereotypical
affected gas male voice
When they called campus police. Fromme savs the
responding officer's attitude was anything but sympathet
ic With I-shirts like that - what did they expect? Fromme
says he was angry.
"1 mean what is the differenc e between that and the frat
boy who wears a T-shirt about why beer is better than
women?" he savs.
In an attempt to address perceived homophobic cli
mates on campus, homosexual students like fromme now
are taking bolder steps to heighten their visibility and
acceptance nationwide. They want to create an environ
ment in which images like Harrs and Sails are balanced
with equal representation from Harrs and Bob. And to
achieve this parity, homosexuals are using shocking, near
ly militant tactics and graphic imagery to attract attention.
Groups like Queer Campus, Students Honestly
Opening L'p Together and Strong Queers United In
Stopping Heterosexism have surfaced on college campus
es as a result of what some gav activists call "the last great
civil rights movement."
(tun persuasive
Joseph Dus, president of «he Student Government
Association al Northeastern l,'.. savs he does not believe
these are effective methods tor confronting die issue.
“A sc are tactic will make the homophobic not like the
organization even more If anything, scare tactics will
nuke homophobics worse." Ihas saw
Hut homosexuals do not necessarilv perceive their
actions as scare tactic s or even radical Students at the U.
of Nebraska, lancoln. staged a kiss-m as an awareness activ
itv but did not consider it to be a radical measure.
*A kisx-m. I mean what are people doing — thev are
doing something heterosexuals do everyday. It reallv
should not be that shocking," saw Vanessa Spencer, co
director of die Ciav. lesbian. Bisexual Student Association
there.
Militant tactics on college campuses also confront hel
erosexism and attempt to change altitudes about sexual
orientations, savs Adriane Carrier, president of (lay.
lesbian Bisexual Students United at California Stale L'.,
Icing Beach
Queer Nation long Beach, 95 percent of which is nude
up of Cal State students, put up billboards depicting het
erosexual couples in bed and the slogan: "We don't care
what vou do in vour bedrcxnns" written undemeadi
".Some students were pissed off but there were those
who said. 'Oh, I never thought of it that way.’* she savs.
John (analis, a student at Cal State, long Beach, says he
supports thr use ol udu>il inr.i%mr% ‘I think lli.it thru
tut tit' are gn«Kl I think people nerd to Ik- shot kt-d "
S|K-iun sals homosexuals tired to make .1 statement to
the hrlrrn«cxual t ummumtv
*We ran do all tin- tiling you tlo. ntdon It air what vt hi
think You will np|)ir» in annul'hr uu
Kvrn though (^iirri ( aiupii' rtnplovs ladii al tai In
I-fortune va" hr tirlirvr' a conservative 'idr ol gat ai tni'iii
t' nrrdrd on i ampin tot hataiii r
"Delinilrly hoth approai hr' air I input taut W r i an
ino'r ahead and push timin' and tlio tan 'inooth timin'
out."
( >nr ol the "tin-"" who mtnht hair to 'iniMitli timin' out
n Wallet (iadrtki, vur pir'idrnl ol the Northra'trin I
Kisevunl. larshianand(w»\ A'VKiation
Hr '.IV' the | m il it it al goals of gtoup' hkr Qurri ( ampin
dilTrrrntiatr them liom tanipus organizations that exist
loi 'tipp<it t and awairnr" Km hr supports the mrssagr
radii al gtoup' rx|Miund
“You kimw who thrv air, don’t you? A lot ol people
think thrv go too l.u and ollrnd Km othris will sav it’s
time to be offended ’ 0
► Affidavit fuels fires
The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps has
stirred up more controversy with it* decision to make
midshipmen repav scholarship money if they refuse
to sign an affidavit denouncing homosexual behavior
m the military.
In the wake of President Bill Clinton's plan to lift
(tic Department of Defense policy prohibiting gavs
I from the armed servic es, some see this as a vindictive
measure against gays and lesbians.
"Now the Navy is making gay people pay for the
Navy's discrimination,’ says William Rubenstein,
director of the American Civil Liberties Union's
National Lesbian and Cay Rights Project. ’It's
McCarthyism.*
But Lt. Bob Carcia, spokesman for the Office of
Navy Information-West, says the clause only was
implemented in an effort to establish a method—sim
ilar to ones already in use by the Army and Air Force
— to ensure that midshipmen understood policies
regarding homosexuality.
"The Navy wanted to avoid using NROTC funding
to train persons who would not be eligible to serve in
uniform," he says.
The controversy began when midshipmen at
Cornell U objected to the wording of the statement
they were asked to sign. One student showed the affi
davit to a lawyer, who contacted the ACLU.
Rubenstein says the potentially discriminatory
aspect of the policy has not been tested legally, but
the ACLU has represented several students in the
past and the military has backed down in every case.
Army ROTC cadet James M. Holobaugh was dis
charged in 1990 and asked to repay his $25,000 schot
arship funds after publicly admitting he was homosex
ual. When the ACLU told the Army that Holobaugh
would complete his term or refuse to repay scholar
ship funds he already had received from ROTC, the
Army forfeited the money.
Lt. Cue Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Navy, says
students who admit to being homosexual after they
have completed the ROTC program will not be asked
automatically to repay their scholarships. Repayment
will be considered on a case-by-case basis, the says.
Although Mueller would not speculate on the fate
of the affidavit, if Clinton lifts the ban, the affidavit
theoretically becomes ineffective, a Rhonda Stunt,
TV CuwfJ Unify SamConuffU.