Gay students seek understanding from campus community

Some homosexual students come to the University only to return to the "closet" they may have left or hoped to leave while still in high school. While University policies do not discriminate by sexual orientation, some students say they feel stifled by the conservative atmosphere and lack of dialogue on sexual issues.

New gay rights projects on campus represent a step toward achieving a climate of comfort for students of all sexual and gender identities.

The University has been progressive on its rules and regulations protecting homosexual students, said Debbie Bazarsky, LGBT concerns coordinator. Princeton was the second school in the nation to include sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy, outlined in Rights, Rules and Responsibilities. It also showed support for the gay community by creating an LGBT resource center two years ago.

"Princeton has been fairly good about making policy to protect students," Bazarsky said.

However, some students of less common sexual or gender identities still do not feel safe here, she said.

In the past six months, students reported four incidents of homophobia and gender discrimination against straight students who either had gay friends or wore unconventional clothing.

In one incident, homophobic graffiti was scrawled on a female student's door because she had homosexual friends. Such incidents, and a general culture of silence when dealing with sexual issues, have led many students to hide their sexual orientation or gender identity, Bazarsky said.

She added that students' everyday actions augment this discomfort. While some offensive remarks may be made unintentionally, others are pointedly hurtful.

"Some people are homophobic and not afraid to show it," said Sue Dyer '03, Pride Alliance president.

Closeting — masking one's identity or beliefs — is not exclusive to the gay community, said Robin Williams '03, head of the Princeton Justice Project.

"I think that the campus is closeted on just about everything," he said. In an effort to be politically correct, many students do not voice unconventional opinions, he said.

Williams attributed some of this atmosphere to the social life at Princeton, especially the 'Street.' The Bicker system and club stereotypes create an atmosphere of social climbing and insecurity about one's identity, Williams said.

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"The 'Street' helps to compartmentalize people," he said. Williams also pointed out that intoxicated students are more likely to make homophobic remarks or to antagonize students who are different.

Gay students also sometimes confront what they call written attacks on their lifestyle. A recent article in the "Rant" section of The Princeton Tory condemned homosexuality as "abnormal and immoral." The section provoked a backlash from the LGBT community and prompted a meeting between Bazarsky and representatives of The Tory.

The Tory addressed students' complaints with emails expounding upon their argument that homosexuality is immoral in the eyes of some religious and moral traditions.

"There are obvious religious implications which some people don't adhere to," said Pete Hegseth '03, publisher of The Tory. "The argument is not that such-and-such is a bad person because they're gay. It's the lifestyle of homosexuality that we consider immoral."

Brad Simmons '03, editor of The Tory, said it was important to expose students to the point of view expressed in the "Rant." The issue of gay rights, he said, has been blown out of proportion on college campuses.

"I would say that there's a tendency of homosexual leaders to overstate how isolated they are," he said. "If these people are inhibited, I don't want to know what uninhibited is."

Many students and faculty say that they disagree. Far from a non-issue, Bill Potter '68, a legal consultant and the Princeton Justice Project's adviser, said gay rights are of paramount importance to faculty and students alike.

"I think it's on the frontier of civil rights, and we should be concerned with it," he said. "It's extremely important to have empathy across sexual orientation boundaries."

Efforts to improve the status of gay rights on campus have included a recent "kiss in" outside the Frist Campus Center and a demonstration to gain recognition of transgender students on National Transgender Remembrance Day, Nov. 19.

Students have also petitioned for gender identity to be included in the University's nondiscrimination policy.

"Students are discriminated against because of how their gender is perceived," Bazarsky said. The University has a long way to go before students who do not dress in traditionally feminine or masculine attire are accepted, she said.

Some students said they also would like to see more courses addressing gay rights issues. Kiki Jamieson, whose POL 317: Discrimination and the Law class inspired the formation of the Princeton Justice Project, said there were several departments, such as English, philosophy and politics, that feasibly could add such courses.

Jamieson emphasized the importance of student awareness of issues affecting homosexual students.

"I think we should all try to learn a little more, listen a little more and talk a little less," she said.

Another reform that students are working toward is more open discussion of sexuality on campus. Dyer said more dialogue would lead to less closeting, which may make the University a more appealing choice for openly gay students. The University does not include information about its LGBT resources in its application information. This policy and the University's reputation for conservatism, make it less desirable for openly gay students, Dyer said.

Gay rights, however, span far beyond the University community. Some students are looking at gay rights issues that are now being debated in the state legislature, such as gay marriage. Last week the Princeton Justice Project approved a program that would explore the status of benefits given to homosexual partners on campus and assist a pending New Jersey court case in which seven homosexual couples are seeking legal marriage with benefits.

The Gallucio decision, which four years ago gave gay couples the right to adopt children, "made New Jersey one of the most liberal and open-armed states in the country," said Kjerstin Elmen-Gruys '04, the head of the new project.

Other gay rights issues that student activist groups will tackle include gays in the military and the safe school law, which is supposed to protect homosexual and transgender high school students from acts of intolerance.

These issues do not only affect homosexual students, Elmen-Gruys said. She said she hopes more straight students would take an interest in issues affecting the gay community.

"The world is changing very quickly and these issues touch everybody," she said. "You can't protect yourself in a bubble and say, 'If it's not affecting me, it's never going to affect me.' "