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Friday,
March 26, 2004 |
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Homophobia
hits home
Atmosphere
on campus not accepting of gays, some say
By
Andy Donovan
Senior
Amber Ferguson says she still gets weird looks every time
she tells someone she had a lesbian roommate her freshman
year at TCU.
“Most people are really surprised,” Ferguson
says. “Either they didn’t know she was gay,
or they say they don’t understand how a heterosexual
girl could have a gay roommate.”
Ferguson says her former roommate was never “fully
out” during her time at TCU, mainly because of the
conservative attitude of much of the student body. She
says eventually it led her roommate to leave TCU to find
somewhere where she could be better accepted.
In a society where gay marriages has become a major political
issue and society has become dominated by a “Queer
Eye,” some students and faculty say there is still
no escaping the fact that a majority of the student body
has a hard time accepting homosexuals on and off campus.
Senior Matthew Flinchum, former president of the eQ Alliance,
which serves as a support group for gay, lesbian and bisexual
students, says there is definitely a sense of homophobia
on campus.
“There is a significant portion of students that
feel strongly that homosexuality is wrong, immoral and
a sin,” Flinchum says. “And they can’t
leave well enough alone.”
Although he believes many feel this way, Flinchum says
they do not make it completely obvious. He says there
have been several examples in the past few years of “covert
homophobia” by the student body.
Two years ago, when the university was commemorating Holocaust
Week, all the pink flags, representing the homosexual
Holocaust victims, were ripped out of the ground, Flinchum
says.
Another example occurred last year when the banner for
National Coming Out Week was cut down and stolen during
the night. Luckily, Flinchum says, there have not been
any violent acts against gays reported on campus.
Flinchum says a lot of the homophobia and crimes elsewhere
against gays have to do with our society as a whole.
“It has a lot to do with the constant barrage of
images and ideas that being gay is bad,” Flinchum
says. “I mean, how many times a day do you hear someone
say, ‘That’s so gay.’”
Another reason Flinchum says homophobia exists on the
TCU campus is because of the location of the university.
He says ideals of men and women, especially in the South,
are for the men to be rough and tough, while the women
are soft and demure.
“Being gay is thought of a man showing the least
bit of femininity, or a woman showing masculinity,”
Flinchum says. “If they do that, then they are automatically
a homosexual.”
Lorna Runge, an administrative assistant in the School
of Education, says she agrees TCU’s location in the
South has a lot to do with the student body’s feelings
toward homosexuals.
“Southern states are historically more conservative
than other regions of the country,” Runge says. “(They)
also often lag behind the rest of the country when it
comes to civil rights issues.”
Runge says another big problem that causes homophobia
is people’s ignorance about different lifestyles.
This ignorance scares off a lot of people from just being
themselves, she says.
Flinchum says unfortunately that fear that is instilled
into some homosexual students by society can cause some
to suppress their true feelings, which can lead to depression
and even suicide.
According to a recent study by professors at the National
Association of School Psychologists, gay and lesbian youths
between the age of 17 and 24 are 200 to 300 percent more
likely to attempt suicide than other young people. The
study also showed that homosexuals account for about 30
percent of suicides among youths.
Flinchum says it is a sad trend that hopefully can be
fixed.
“Any pain and hurt that they experience could have
been avoided if people had been more open-minded and accepting,”
Flinchum says.
Flinchum says he hopes that with programs like eQ Alliance,
the campus can eventually become more welcoming to homosexuals,
but the way things are right now, it may take a while.
“The fact that some students are scared to just come
to eQ Alliance meetings because they don’t want to
be ostracized is quite telling of the current situation
on campus,” Flinchum says.
Don Mills, the vice chancellor of Student Affairs, says
that while he feels college campuses are some of the most
welcoming institutions for gays and lesbians, there is
always an opportunity for discrimination.
“No place is devoid of bigotry,” Mills says.
“While official policy may be welcoming, individual
students may be targets of threats, harassment, or, on
occasion, violence.”
While Mills says there have been several cases much like
the Holocaust Week incident, the school has been lucky
they have never had to deal with violent confrontations
on the subject.
“I know that over the last few years several students
have been the target of threats and harassment,”
Mills says. “I am certain some feel lonely and isolated.”
Mills says it is the responsibility of the university
to provide help for these students that do feel alone,
with such programs as eQ Alliance, and Allies, which is
a program that provides community support for gay, lesbian
and bi students.
Ferguson says that since her former roommate left freshman
year, she believes the student body has gotten a little
bit more accepting but still has some work to do.
“I think the student body is definitely starting
to get a little bit more liberal,” Ferguson says.
“But it will always be mostly conservative. I mean,
it is still TCU we are talking about here.”
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