Fusion's Spring 2012 issue

FUSION Spring 2012

Kent State University

Ohiofusion.com

Dude by day, Queen by night.

What’s behind the wig and makeup?

FUSION

Table of Contents

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p. 9 — Coming Out Conservative Gays and lesbians who vote Republican? A strange concept? Not really.

p. 52 — Life After College One graduate, one student and one dropout share their takes on school, life and what it’s all about.

p. 11 — Setting the Record Straight... So to Speak What’s the common attribute between a guy who sports cowboy boots, a lady who surrounds herself with gay friends, a guy who moves his hips on the dance floor and a lady who wears manly clothes?

A lot of people think they’re gay.

p. 63 — Collecting a Community The Gay Ohio History Initiative works to preserve the mementos of LGBT culture in the state. Find out what it is collecting and how it got started.

p.15 — KSU Receives Its First Report Card See how Kent State lines up in LGBT-friendliness and what schools are doing better and worse. p. 23 — Schools Fight Against Bullies Some Ohio high schools are advocating for their LGBT students by standing up against bullying and hate—and some are not. p. 28 — Paving their Way to Prom Mitch and Josh turned a small-town school on its head when they refused to hide their relationship. With the help of ACLU, they demanded equal opportunity to accompany one another to prom. p. 30 — Prom Is So Gay Flip through Fusion’s newest photo spread and relive the days of high school prom, LGBT-style. p. 43 — Who they are under the makeup Being a queen goes beyond glitter and spandex, and the person beneath the bronzer is much more than his stage name.

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FROM THE EDITORS

Rachel Hagenbaugh Managing Editor

When I began writing for The Daily Kent Stater, everyone I knew was excited for me. I also got the reaction I expected when I told people about my internship at Cleveland Magazine. I never thought twice about what people would think when I became the managing editor of Fusion.

Some of my friends who read Fusion were thrilled. They are not part of the LGBT community, but they still indulge in it every semester. Other people I knew never heard of it and asked what kind of content the magazine produced. As soon as I said “gay” or “lesbian,” I knew my words were falling on deaf ears.

For the first time, I witnessed another side of life. No one said they disapproved of my choice of magazine, but facial expressions say much more than words.

inspired by a young lesbian who, despite growing up in conservative Ravenna, is not afraid to be proud of who she is.

This issue of Fusion challenges readers to broaden their horizons and get inspired by the lives of the individuals throughout the magazine. This semester, our staff met people who have a positive outlook on life despite having to defend who they are every day.

It’s important for people to go after their dreams and get to know others based on what the opportunities can bring to their lives, not what they think they know about a person.

It doesn’t matter who I am or what magazine outlet I write for or manage. Fusion’s staff produces great content everyone can enjoy. That is the only thing we need to justify to anyone.

It was a shame, but it didn’t change how I felt about my position at Fusion. I didn’t exactly know what I was getting myself into, but I knew it was going to be a good thing.

This semester I attended a drag show and accompanied a queen to a beauty shop to pick out accessories for his Saturday night show. I learned about individuals who have to come out as straight just because they don’t dress or act like the stereotypical heterosexual. I was

Simon Husted Editor-in-Chief

Whenever I’m handing issues of Fusion out to students, I’m almost guaranteed to hear “Oh, no thank you. I’m not a part of that community.”

I understand not everyone is comfortable picking up something associated with the LGBT community, but responses like those insinuate that Fusion can’t offer anything to a reader with no LGBT connection. It’s exactly the opposite, though. How can anyone learn anything new if everyone just exposes themselves to the same things they’re already familiar with?

Picture it this way: Up until this semester, I never really thought of dressing like a female. I could call it drag, but as anyone can see, the end result was so sloppy and lame that giving it such a formal label would probably offend real drag queens. When Rachel and I agreed to go “drag” for our editor photos, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The weekend before the shoot, I spent an hour and a half shaving every inch of hair off my body, only to eventually buy a long-sleeve top from Goodwill anyway. I realized on the day of the shoot that my eyebrows needed severe waxing. But by then it was too late. I went ahead as a bushy browed girl who’s hooked on testosterone.

Dressing “drag” may not be the same as reading Fusion — it’s certainly less awkward when you’re in the men’s bathroom — but I was still exposed to something new that I would otherwise not think about. I now know drag isn’t as easy as throwing a wig and skirt together.

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This issue of Fusion won’t reach that level of intimate exposure, but it will expose readers to new lifestyles, issues and people they weren’t familiar with before opening the magazine. Readers will learn about Nick and Greg, who on-stage go by the names Eris and Helen, but off-stage live like college-age adults who are worth much more than their drag performances.

Readers will also learn about three gay Ohio natives who have weighed, or are still weighing, the advantages and disadvantages of leaving Ohio. And in our other stories, readers will learn about four students who have had to set the record straight — literally — to parents, coworkers and friends.

Like every magazine, this issue also offers breezier pieces that will interest all of our readers. Page-flippers will find a seven-page infographic comparing the LGBT-friendly features at Kent State with 15 other Ohio colleges. And like the prior issue, our photo staff has also produced a funny 12-page photo spread. This time, it’s focused on the memories of high school prom.

Fusion offers something for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation. With that said, the people farthest from the LGBT community are probably the readers who have the most to gain by reading this magazine.

From the Editors

Fusion Volume 9, Issue 2 Spring 2012

Editor-in-Chief Simon Husted

Assistant Editor

Managing Editor

Adviser

Art Director

Photo Editor

Web Editor

Assistant Art Directors

Photographers

Ohiofusion.com Staff

Jessica Yanesh Hannah Potes Phil Botta Jim Lightcap Anthony Vence Kristen Bauer

Kathryn Coduto- Projects Manager Matthew Lewis Jackie DeMate Morgan Blackwood Josh Romig Kat Cortner Megan Lee Wilkinson Molly Ensminger Mal Jarem Tyler Lieslich

Kelli Fitzpatrick

Katherine Armstrong

Emily Rabatsky Catherine Zedell

Rachel Hagenbaugh

Brooke DiDonato

Staff Writers

Copy Editors

Nicole Stempak Matthew Lewis Jackie Bergeron

Brittany Nader Catherine Taylor

Bruce Zake

Greg Porter

Business Staff

Promotions Team

Tommy Grosso-Advertising Representative DKS Composition Dept.- Advertising Designer Tami Bongiorni- Advertising Manager Lori Cantor- Business Manager Chris Sharron- Media Specialist

Justin Lagore -Social Media Director Jackie Bergeron- Marketing Director Gabriel Johnson- Advertising Director

Mission According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, fusion is “a merging of diverse, distinct or separate elements into a unified whole.” Fusion magazine addresses sexual minority issues within the general university population.

The magazine strives to unify people of different backgrounds through education and awareness.

Contact Us

Donations & Advertising

Special Thanks

205 Franklin Hall, KSU Kent, OH 44242

Donations can be sent to the address on the left, payable to Fusion Magazine. If you’re interested in advertising in our next issue, please contact our advertising manager at admin@ohiofusion.com or at 330.672.2586.

Fusion Magazine thanks the Gay Community Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation for its continued financial support.

p 330.672.2586 f 330.672.4880 admin@ohiofusion.com ohiofusion.com

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EDITORIAL STAFF

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Assistant Editor

Web Editor

Kelli Fitzpatrick, junior magazine journalism

Greg Porter, senior english

Photo Editor Brooke DiDonato, senior photojournalism

Assistant Art Director

Art Director

Assistant Art Director

Emily Rabatsky, junior visual communication design

Katherine Armstrong, junior information design

Catherine Zedell, junior visual communication design

Marketing Director

Social Media Director

Jackie Bergeron, junior magazine journalism

Justin Lagore, junior public relations

Advertising Director Gabriel Johnson, senior advertising

FUSION

LGBT News You’ve Missed We’ve gathered all of highlights that slipped your radar this past four months.

Text by Jackie Bergeron

December

January

12/1/2011 – World AIDS Day This year marked the 23rd anniversary of World AIDS Day. Since 1988, Dec. 1 has been an international observance of support for those living with the disease and in memory of those who lost their fight against the disease. In the last decade or so, this day has been used to educate people about the virus and to urge people to keep pushing to find a cure.

1/1/2012 – New Year, More Civil Unions in Delaware and Hawaii In 2011, both the first and the 50th states of the Union passed legislation allowing civil unions. The legislation for both states took effect Jan. 1, 2012. According to Hawaii News Now, four Honolulu couples filled out online civil union applications as soon as they were available at midnight, and an hour later, the four couples’ ceremonies began.

12/6/2011 – Courts Rule in Favor of Trans Woman In 2007, Vandy Beth Glenn was fired from her job at the Georgia General Assembly because of her “gender non-conformity.” Last year, a district court judge ruled she was discriminated and should get her job back. Her employer appealed it, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta agreed with the district court and upheld the decision.

1/12/2012 – Orlando Instates Domestic Partnership Registry On Dec. 13, the Orlando City Council unanimously voted to enact a domestic partner registry despite that Florida has a constitutional amendment against marriage equality. Orlando is the first city in Florida to legally recognize lesbian and gay couples. The registry will give couples legal protections such as hospital visitations and the ability to make decisions about critical medical care. The registry took effect Jan. 12.

12/13/2011 – GQ Sticks Its Foot in Its Mouth Every year, the New York City-based magazine GQ releases its “Year in Style” report, highlighting the best and worst of men’s fashion over the past year. 2011 was no exception, but GQ decided it would be fun to use the list to talk shit on the gays. On Twitter the mag said, “Rules of Street Style: If you have testosterone problems, a mustache doesn’t always help.” In those 140 characters, GQ added a link to a picture of Adam Lambert and also linked his Twitter account to the post. Classy. Understandably, everyone freaked out and tweeted their disgust back at GQ. The magazine later apologized and said it was “thoughtless” and would “learn” from it.

12/14/2011 – Virginia Discriminates Against Everyone Trying to Adopt In a 5-1 vote, the Virginia Board of Social Services approved final regulations that allow state-licensed adoption agencies to discriminate against gay and lesbian couples from becoming foster parents and adopting children. Not to leave anyone out, the new regulations will allow denial of services based on age, gender, disability, religion, political belief and family status. The only things left off limits are race, national origin and ethnicity. The new regulations take effect May 1, 2012.

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1/26/2012 – Maine Asks for a Vote In 2009, Maine’s governor signed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. This story would have had a perfect ending, but some anti-gay activists got their panties in a bunch about it and issued a “People’s Veto” soon after. On Jan. 26, citizens collected almost double the signatures needed to place an initiative on the November 2012 ballot to win back marriage equality.

Recent polls show 54 percent of Maine residents favor samesex marriage, so chances are good it will pass this time.

NEWS YOU’VE MISSED

February

March

2/7/2012 – Prop. 8 Round Three The saga of Prop. 8 has been going on since 2008.

First, it passed on the November ballot and specified marriage was to only be between a man and a woman.

In August 2010, a Federal District Court in San Francisco overturned Prop 8 because it violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clause of the Constitution.

On Feb. 7, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s ruling that Prop. 8 is unconstitutional.

It’s not over yet though. Backers of Prop. 8 have applied for another hearing, and the case might eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

3/1/2012 – Marriage in Maryland 2012 has been a busy year so far in the world of marriage equality. Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed the bill for same-sex marriages March 1 after it successfully passed the House and Senate. The law takes effect January 2013. Opponents of the bill are already petitioning for a referendum on the November 2012 ballot.

2/13/2012 – Lucky Number Seven Washington became the 7th U.S. state to legalize gay marriage. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed its bill into law after it passed through the Senate with a 28-21 vote and the House with a 55-43 vote. The legislation won’t take effect until June 7, 2012, but opponents are already on their way to challenge the law at the ballot box in the upcoming election.

2/17/2012 – NJ Governor Keeps His Promise Staying true to his word, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill allowing same-sex marriage after it passed through the Assembly and Senate. Christie said it should be left up to the public, and discussions about a referendum are taking place. State legislators also have the option to override the veto, but it needs a 2/3 vote to work.

2/18/2012 – Students Speak Up to Santorum Students from Kent State University and The University of Akron rallied against hate politics at Quaker Square in Akron. The protesters stood across the street from the Summit County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner, where Republican Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum gave the keynote address. Although they received some opposition from dinner attendees, members of the group held their ground and had a very peaceful protest.

Honors marriages between same-sex couples.

Recognizes some form of relationship between same-sex couples, but not marriage.

Does not recognize same-sex unions at all.

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3/8/2012 – #StandUpForEllen is a Success In February 2012, a “pro-family advocacy group” attacked a woman you can’t help but love. One Million Moms, which actually turned out to be roughly 40,000 moms, urged JCPenny to drop Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman because she is a lesbian. People flocked to Facebook and Twitter to show their support for Ellen.

JCPenny had her back, and she wasn’t fired, but it was brought to light that in 29 states, she could be fired just for being gay. It also brought to light that in 34 states, someone could be fired because they were transgender.

One Million Moms initially said they were going to boycott the store, but as of March 8, it was reported the moms were backing down, probably because they knew they’ve been beat.

3/24/2012 – Marriage Equality Rally Weds More Than 200 Gay Couples More than 3,000 people gathered at Free Stamp Park in downtown Cleveland to voice their opposition against Ohio’s 8-year-old anti-gay marriage amendment.

Demonstrators migrated to the streets with witty signs, rainbow attire and flags to show their support for marriage equality. The event, organized by 17-year-old Adam Hoover, hosted guest speakers and two massive rounds of gay weddings. Two-hundred and seventy-two couples filled out marriage certificates, none of which are recognized by Ohio law. A petition is circulating right now to place a repeal measure on the November ballot against Ohio’s anti-gay marriage amendment.

FUSION

Coming Out Conservative “I don’t think people have a good definition of what conservatism is.”

- Olivia Stephens, junior communication studies major.

Text by Simon Husted Photos by Hannah Potes Contributed Reporting by Shauna Carter and Jackie Bergeron

Olivia isn’t sure whom she will vote for Nov. 6, and as that date approaches, her decision may not get any easier. Like her parents, the junior applied communication studies major at Kent State is a registered Republican, but she doesn’t agree with her party on all issues. She specifically doesn’t agree with their often anti-gay platform.

“I know it’s hard because none of (the Republicans) are going to be for gay marriage, but neither necessarily is Obama,” Olivia said, adding that President Obama hasn’t done enough to push for repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The 1996 law bans the federal government from honoring marriage between two people of the same sex.

Olivia has been openly gay since high school. She has a girlfriend, and many of her friends are bisexual, gay or lesbian. But issues like marriage equality don’t define “true conservatives” or whom she votes for, she said.

“I base (my conservative ideology on) selfdetermination and independence,” Olivia said. “I don’t think people have a good definition of what conservatism is.”

Her father had a major role in her conservative upbringing in downstate New York. When Olivia came out, it didn’t take long for her father to introduce her to the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization for conservative gays, lesbians, bisexuals and allies.

“He wanted to help me figure out my own political identity while being gay,” said Olivia, who now follows the Log Cabin Republicans and its Cleveland chapter on Facebook.

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Olivia said her opinion of President Obama’s job performance is “low,” but she hasn’t ruled him out yet.

GOProud has though. Like the Log Cabin Republicans, GOProud fights for conservative policy-making and equality for gays and lesbians.

GOProud has yet to endorse a Republican candidate, but Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director and co-founder of the group, said Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul or Mitt Romney would better serve Americans — including those in the LGBT community — than Obama.

Although all three candidates have said in debates and media interviews they would uphold DOMA, Jimmy said it doesn’t matter who wins in November because a repeal wouldn’t have enough support anyway.

“I don’t know if it will even reach the next president’s desk because we are a long way from the repeal of DOMA,” said Jimmy. “Let’s talk about reality.”

Even less threatening, he said, is Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich’s pledge to vote in favor of a U.S. constitutional marriage amendment, which would overrule gay marriage legislation in every state.

The first attempt to pass a marriage amendment in Congress failed in 2004 and has lost popularity since then, Jimmy said.

GOProud supports repealing DOMA and blocking a federal marriage amendment, but Jimmy said the group is focused on initiatives like reforming health care and Social Security to be more inclusive for samesex couples.

Tim Shallahamer, center, joined 30 other college students to rally against Rick Santorum’s anti-gay platform at the University of Akron campus Feb. 18.

Jimmy said the biggest issue the LGBT community should be most concerned about is the economy.

“What’s affecting most gay people isn’t that they are going to get fired because they’re gay,” Jimmy said. “It’s because their boss is laying off the whole staff.”

Rick Santorum, the most socially conservative Republican candidate, may pose a direct threat to LBGT rights. Like Romney and Gingrich, he is for enforcing DOMA and passing a marriage amendment. However, his most threatening promise of all is to reinstate the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy with an executive order if elected.

Despite his imminent threat to openly gay soldiers, “Rick Santorum has as much of a chance getting elected president as I do,” Jimmy said.

Richard Stanislaw, a Kent State political science professor, agrees with Santorum’s low chances of getting elected or even nominated. He said Santorum’s anti-gay rhetoric is missing the mark among the American public, and he is seen as the “dinosaur” of the Republican Party.

“There’s still a population that feels that way and he’s playing to those people, but (the American public) is shifting,” Richard said. Over the past two decades, Richard said the American public’s perspective on tax policies, spending and other fiscal matters has grown more conservative. “At the same time, we have demonstrably become more tolerant of LGBT issues.

That, to me, is an amazing shift.”

Conservatives and Moderates aren’t the only people changing. Among LGBT rights activists, a distinction is growing between conservative people and anti-gay

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pundits.

On Feb. 18, more than 30 activists gathered at the University of Akron to protest Rick Santorum’s guest appearance at the Lincoln Day Dinner hosted by the Summit County Republicans. Before and during the demonstration, organizers made it clear the event was not aimed at Republicans.

“I love that this is simply an anti-gay politics rally and not an anti-Republican rally,” said Tim Shallahamer, a senior computer information systems major at the University of Akron.

Tim isn’t a Republican — he’s a registered Independent, but there are many things he agrees with Republicans about and even more things he disagrees with Democrats about, like healthcare and immigration reform.

Like Olivia, he is openly gay and was glad to see DADT repealed last year. He said he hopes to see DOMA repealed soon as well. But like Olivia, LGBT rights don’t define Tim’s political ideology.

“I can’t vote just on my equality because the economic situation is a far more pressing matter,” he said.

He voted for Obama in 2008 because of his platform on financial aid and higher education. This year, he has settled on voting for Obama again.

“I’m not thrilled with Obama, but given the alternatives, he’s not the worst solution,” Tim said. “I wish politicians were less focused on social issues and more focused on the issues affecting our nation.”▼

FUSION

Setting the Record Straight...

So to Speak Text by Greg Porter Photos by Anthony Vence

A man walks in with coiffed hair, skinny jeans, a fur-lined jacket and a bunch of sassy friends.

He must be gay, right?

Not really. It’s not uncommon to mistake someone else as the wrong sexual orientation.

It becomes a problem, however, when that mistake turns into a vicious label.

Labels and false assumptions are something these four Kent State students often tackle.

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SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Michael Green, a recent graduate of Kent State Stark, was raised by his mother and sisters. Being raised by women, Michael grew accustomed to listening to complaints about husbands, boyfriends and men in general. He said this input taught him how to treat women well.

After Michael divorced, he lost a lot of weight, which he said boosted his confidence quite a bit. With this new sense of self-worth, he started frequently dancing at nightclubs in Akron.

“I like dancing with girls,” Michael said, “and girls don’t

“I had strong female role models,” Michael said, adding that his mom filled both parental roles in his household. “A lot of femininity rubbed off on me because of that.”

“I had strong female role models,” Michael said, adding that his mom filled both parental roles in his household.

“A lot of femininity rubbed off on me because of that.”

Michael said gay people are the worst perpetrators of misconstruing his sexual orientation. One gay man actually tried to convince all of his friends that Michael was gay. The man argued that no straight guy would love and care for cats as much as Michael does.

“I guess all straight people hate animals or something?”

Michael said, who has two cats at home.

Despite setting the record straight, the man still insists that Michael is gay and just hasn’t come out of the closet yet.

like dancing with guys who just bob around. They like dancing with me because I actually dance.” For that reason, Michael has been mistaken for being gay on several occasions.

Michael feels that his style of dress is also a factor in people’s confusion. After losing weight, he started dressing in tighter-fitting clothes.

“I can’t imagine what it is about my wardrobe that makes me seem gay,” Michael said with a laugh, rubbing his faux-fur-lined coat. Being perceived as gay doesn’t bother Michael in the least. He thinks it’s funny when he is introduced as a “gay – straight friend.”

“Some people were extremely surprised,” he said, “and I would say, ‘Wow, I just found out that I’m married too!

It’s a big surprise.’” Sometimes the convincing got so far that he had to introduce them to his wife.

“I’m about this far from being gay,” Michael said, holding his fingers closely together, “…but this far from being attracted to men,” spreading his arms as far apart as they could go. Michael said understanding that about himself makes it easier for him to be open and understanding to not just the gay community but to different aspects of life in general, including race, sexuality and gender. Michael said he is grateful for the experiences he’s faced, though his thought process might be more closed-minded if he hadn’t had the chance to experience what LGBT people face on a daily basis.

Heather Grunden, a senior early childhood education major, is straight but is sometimes perceived as bisexual because she, like many other young people, questioned her sexuality when she was a teenager. In her teens she fooled around with other girls. After experimenting in college and discovering what she

people may result in her being seen as “one of them.”

Whenever people perceive her as lesbian or bisexual, Heather said she looks back at her experimenting phase.

She said in some ways it trivialized the struggles LGBT people face. Heather said she understands how some people can unfairly judge her sexual orientation.

Michael was married for 11 years to his high school sweetheart, and only got divorced recently. When he was still married, he liked to mess with people who didn’t believe he was straight.

“Sometimes I can tell when people are LGBT, but I wait for them to tell me or just leave it alone. It’s not my business to ask.” wanted, she realized that she was, indeed, straight.

Grunden also thinks her sexuality may be perceived as “not straight” because of the company she keeps.

“A lot of my friends are gay,” she said. “People mistake me as gay, and my mom questions some stuff now because of what I tell her about my friends.”

Heather’s mom is worried that she may lean towards the gayer side of things because of who she befriends and even worries that Heather’s association with LGBT 12

“Hanging out with a lot of gay people is bound to make people question things,” she said. “It’s not like it’s something to be ashamed of. Sometimes I can tell when people are LGBT, but I wait for them to tell me or just leave it alone. It’s not my business to ask.” Heather just wishes that people would offer her the same courtesy.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

Things are a bit different for Emily Vernon. People often ask Emily, a senior biological anthropology major, if she’s gay. She said that part of it is due to how she decorated her old laptop with rainbows and other LGBT support stickers. Emily is by no means a “girly girl.”

Emily believes that her lack of attraction is, in and of itself, a sexual orientation.

“I had to come out (as asexual) to my mom, especially with her outburst at the doctor’s office,” she said.

“Sexualities are not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing.”

She said she prefers men’s and gender-neutral clothing most of the time, and she doesn’t wear makeup often.

It’s not just friends or strangers who have mistaken Emily as gay — her mom has as well.

“I was at a doctor’s appointment and my mom blurted out ‘I think Emily is a lesbian!’” Emily said.

Emily did have to come out, but not in the usual way.

Emily isn’t gay OR straight. Emily identifies as asexual.

While asexuality can be very fluid and varies greatly from person to person, Emily’s asexuality is defined by a complete lack of sexual attraction to people of the opposite– or same–sex or gender. The very idea of wanting to have sex is foreign to her. Even so, Emily identifies with the LGBT community. Some people believe that asexuality is a sexual dysfunction, while

Sexuality certainly isn’t “one size fits all” for Brian McCoy, a senior music technology major at Kent State Stark.

Although Brian isn’t often mistaken as gay anymore, he recalls being bullied because of his perceived sexuality.

During his freshman year at Heidelberg University,

Even though Emily told her mother that she’s asexual, she wonders if her mom still thinks that she may be attracted to women on an emotional level because of her friends, the way she dresses and her disinterest in men.

Emily said it hurts when people make uneducated assumptions about her sexuality, and at times makes her afraid to come out as asexual at all. When people perceive her as lesbian, she felt coming out as asexual would be a letdown to them. Emily insists that nothing can be done besides educating people that “sexualities are not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing.”

Brian even had problems at work regarding his sexuality. He had to bring his girlfriend to work at Bed, Bath & Beyond to convince his co–workers that he was straight.

“There were even managers questioning it,” he said. “It

“America is a hard place to grow up as a guy, sometimes, because there’s a certain way that we’re expected to act.”

Brian was followed to his room by several young men.

“I could tell that they were following me, you know, asking me what was up, asking about the boots I wore earlier that day,” he said.

They taunted Brian about his style, then left for a few hours. At three or four in the morning, four of them pounded at his door and screamed insults about his boots. Brian described the boots as “gay cowboy boots.”

“People didn’t like them at all, and they kind of made me a target I guess,” he said. “But I thought they (the boots) were sweet.”

Brian said people perceived him as gay because of his high pitched voice, sense of style and articulate speech.

He said it wasn’t difficult to convince people he was straight in high school. In college, people were worse about it, which seemed counterintuitive to Brian.

“I thought people in college wouldn’t care,” he said. He had to get away from Heidelberg, especially when he feared that the guys who tormented him might go too far and hurt him.

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took almost six months to stop people second-guessing my sexuality.”

Even then, some still assumed that he was bisexual.

“I got sick of people saying all of this untrue stuff about me, and it made me bitter, especially toward very, very straight men,” he said.

Brian said people went out of their way to make him miserable for something that he’s not, and even though he’s changed his style, it’s still a sore subject for him. Brian said his experiences have made him more sensitive to the issues of the LGBT community.

“I’ve grown to appreciate the gay community a lot through all of this,” Brian said. “America is a hard place to grow up as a guy, sometimes, because there’s a certain way that we’re expected to act.”

Brian said he has always been extremely kind to people, regardless of who they are.

“I treated people how I wanted to be treated,” he said. “It kind of backfired.” ▼

FUSION

10 Years of Community Support Akron’s Gay Community Endowment Fund celebrates its 10-year anniversary

The Gay Community Endowment Fund has awarded more than $156,000 to organizations and projects that provide support and advocacy for the LGBT community in Northeast Ohio since it was founded in 2001. Of that sum, Fusion has received $11,300 over the last five years — enough to finance Fusion’s printer for one and a half magazine issues. Fusion thanks GCEF for its support.

In honor of the milestone, GCEF is organizing a 10-year anniversary celebration Friday, June 8 at the Akron Civic Theatre. Tony-nominated, multiplatinum-selling songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway will highlight the evening’s event on stage. Tickets, which range between $100 and $250, will be sold online at www. gaycommunityfund.org beginning late April.

Although GCEF was formed in 2001, it didn’t officially launch until 2002, said Christopher Hixson, who up until 2012 served as chairman of GCEF. GCEF’s progress, and essentially Fusion’s progress, could not be possible without the contribution of donors and volunteers. To learn more about the Gay Community Endowment Fund and how you can assist its fundraising efforts, visit www.gaycommunityfund.org/giving.

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FUSION

KSU Brings Home its First Report Card... and it’s just average.

Text by Simon Husted Illustrations by Emily Rabatsky

An LBGT resource for college students and parents has given Kent State officials a better picture of what they’re doing well, and what they’re still missing.

In early February, Professor Chris McVay, a faculty associate, and Associate Vice President Fashaad Crawford, both from the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, submitted an 11page assessment about LGBT advantages and disadvantages at Kent State. When officials from Campus Pride!, an LGBT organization for college students, weighed Kent State’s assessment, the university received a 3.5 out of 5 star rating. Forty-nine other colleges share the same rating out of the 328 colleges listed in the Campus Climate Index.

In honor of Kent State’s addition, Fusion gathered the 16 Ohio colleges listed in the Campus Climate Index and highlighted the advantages and disadvantages they offer to LGBT students, staff and faculty.

It’s important to note that not every piece of information is up to date. Everything in the Campus Climate Index is self-reported either by a university official, or sometimes, by students.

Chris Kuhn, a senior computer information systems major at the University of Akron, completed UA’s assessment in Fall 2010 to put his school on the map. Chris, the president of Akron LGBTU, admits the 80-question assessment is not easy to fill out. Over the course of a week, it took him more than 30 hours to find each answer and frame it accurately.

UA’s assessment hasn’t been updated since Chris submitted it a year and a half ago. At the time UA offered gender-neutral restrooms only in academic bulidings, not in residence halls.

The university has since added them in residence halls. However, the change hasn’t get been updated to the Campus Climate Index.

Chris, who graduates in May 2013, said he doesn’t have time to update UA’s assessment and is looking for a university official to take over the obligation.

Despite the logistics of updating the assessments, the Campus Climate Index is the only resource that specifically evaluates how friendly specific colleges are to the LGBT community.

To learn more about Kent State’s assessment and other colleges across the nation, visit www.campusclimateindex.org.

15

KENT’S FIRST REPORT CARD

Kent State University

What it has:

Kent, Ohio 3.5/5 stars

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers gender-neutral or singleoccupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

What it doesn’t have: Doesn’t offer a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Lacks LGBT – themed housing.

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Includes sexual orientation in its non-discrimination statement, BUT NOT gender identity and expression.

16

FUSION

University of Akron

Ohio University

Case Western Reserve University

Akron, Ohio 3.5/5 stars

Athens, Ohio 4.5/5 stars

Cleveland, Ohio 4.5/5 stars

What it has:

What it has:

What it has:

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

What it doesn’t have:

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies minor or major, nor any LGBT courses.

Lacks an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Doesn’t offer a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

17

What it doesn’t have: Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies major or minor, BUT does offer LGBT courses.

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

What it doesn’t have:

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies major or minor, BUT does offer LGBT courses.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

KENT’S FIRST REPORT CARD

Bowling Green State University

Baldwin-Wallace College

University of Cincinnati

Bowling Green, Ohio 4/5 stars

Berea, Ohio 4/5 stars

Cincinnati, Ohio 3.5/5 stars

What it has:

What it has:

What it has:

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Offers LGBT courses AND an LGBT minor or major.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents

What it doesn’t have: Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies major or minor, BUT does offer LGBT courses.

Includes sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination statement, BUT NOT gender identity and expression.

Doesn’t offer a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Doesn’t provide health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

18

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

What it doesn’t have:

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies minor or major, NOR any LGBT courses.

What it doesn’t have:

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings BUT NOT in residence halls.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings BUT NOT in residence halls.

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

FUSION

Columbus, Ohio 4/5 stars

Columbus, Ohio 5/5 stars

Ohio State University

Wright State University

What it has:

What it has:

What it has:

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Offers LGBT courses AND an LGBT minor or major.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Columbus College of Art and Design

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

What it doesn’t have: Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies minor or major, NOR any LGBT courses.

Lacks an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Includes sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination statement, BUT NOT gender identity and expression.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

19

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Dayton, Ohio 3.5/5 stars

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

What it doesn’t have:

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies major or minor, BUT does offer LGBT courses.

What it doesn’t have:

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

KENT’S FIRST REPORT CARD

Kenyon College

Oberlin College

Miami University

Gambier, Ohio 3/5 stars

Oberlin, Ohio 5/5 stars

Oxford, Ohio 4.5/5 stars

What it has:

What it has:

What it has:

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Offers LGBT courses AND an LGBT minor or major.

Offers LGBT courses AND an LGBT minor or major.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Offers LGBT-themed housing.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers LGBT-themed housing.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

What it doesn’t have: Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies major or minor, BUT does offer LGBT courses.

Includes sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination statement, BUT NOT gender identity and expression.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

20

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

What it doesn’t have: Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

KENT’S FIRST REPORT CARD

University of Toledo

Central State University

Youngstown State University

Toledo, Ohio 4.5/5 stars

Wilberforce, Ohio 1/5 stars

Youngstown, Ohio 2/5 stars

What it has:

What it has:

What it has:

Has an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

Officials regularly organize LGBT social events.

What it doesn’t have:

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Includes not only sexual orientation, BUT ALSO gender identity and expression in its nondiscrimination statement.

Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies minor or major, NOR any LGBT courses.

Offers a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers LGBT and ally student scholarship(s).

Lacks an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Doesn’t include sexual orientation NOR gender identity and expression in its non-discrimination statement.

Doesn’t provide health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Provides health insurance to an employee’s same-sex partner, equal in coverage to an employee’s opposite-sex spouse.

Offers gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings AND in residence halls.

What it doesn’t have: Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies minor or major, NOR any LGBT courses.

Sports a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Doesn’t offer a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Officials don’t regularly organize LGBT social events.

What it doesn’t have:

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer an LGBT Studies major or minor, BUT does offer LGBT courses.

Doesn’t offer gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in either academic buildings and residence halls.

Includes sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination statement, BUT NOT gender identity and expression.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer gender-neutral or single-occupancy restrooms in academic buildings BUT DOES in residence halls.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

Lacks an on-campus LGBT resource center.

Doesn’t offer a simple process for students to change their name and gender identity on university records and documents.

Lacks LGBT themed housing.

Doesn’t offer LGBT or ally student scholarship(s).

Lacks a special lavender or rainbow graduation ceremony for LGBT and ally students.

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A local band’s name is buzzing around Kent’s LGBT community this year. Maddie Finn’s newest EP, Walls, is 25 minutes of high-energy rock and roll. OhioFusion.com’s Katy Coduto sat down with Maddie Finn herself to review her latest singles. Be sure to visit OhioFusion.com to read the review and download one of Maddie Finn’s singles for free.

Visit OhioFusion.com 22

FUSION

Schools Fight Against Bullies Some fight harder than others.

Text by Matthew Lewis Photos by Kristin Bauer Contibuted Reporting by Simon Husted

She walks down the same high school hallways and sees the same faces Monday through Friday. She’s the funny girl everybody can share a good laugh with.

She’s outgoing and likes to get to know other people, and teachers respect her because she’s not afraid to speak up in class. She has even gained some local fame from singing her lungs out with her band almost every weekend.

But in the same hallways where Maddie Finn, 18, of Ravenna is loved, respected and even sometimes idolized, she gets called a “fag” and, suddenly, Maddie’s teachers and so-called friends turn the other cheek and pretend it never happened.

“My school is very John Deere,” Maddie said. “We drive trucks to school, and I know there are a lot of kids like me who are gay, but we’re just not represented at all.”

As a high school senior, Maddie is not afraid to share the life she’s been given. Attending Maplewood Career Center, a high school in Ravenna, Maddie lives proudly as a young lesbian in a small, conservative town, and like a lot of LGBT students Maddie’s age, she has experienced her fair share of bullying.

Smiling when she speaks and laughing lightly when she makes a joke, Maddie shifts her large, black-framed glasses closer to her eyes. While brushing a couple pieces of her neatly styled, spiky black hair behind her ear, she said she’s been a musician for as long as she can remember. Her band has even opened for big names like Paramore and New Found Glory.

“I played percussion; I sing in my band along with guitar

23

and piano,” Maddie said. “I was actually identified as musically gifted in first grade, so I guess you could say that music is my life.”

Music isn’t the only gift driving Maddie to be the best person she can be. She’s also a very good leader. She’s already heavily involved in PRIDE! Kent.

Compared to her experience at Kent State, Maddie said teachers and school leaders should be doing a lot more to support LGBT students.

“You’re a teacher regardless of your political or moral beliefs — you’re there to protect a child,” Maddie said.

“I’ve never been assaulted, but that’s because I’m a likeable person and I have my music. Other kids don’t have it so easy.”

Maddie has tried to create a GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) in her school, but “it either just gets pushed aside or ignored,” Maddie said. “I’ve even asked teachers if they’d be willing to represent the group, and they’re always too busy.”

One teacher stands out to Maddie as an advocate for her and the other gay students – her psychology teacher.

“In my psychology class, we studied a story on a transgender person, and half of the class just laughed all the way through it,” Maddie said. “Anytime you say a word like ‘transgender,’ people just laugh.”

In situations like these, her psychology teacher interjects and asks the students to rethink their reactions. For Maddie and other LGBT students, this

Quick Numbers About Ohio Public Schools:

› 93 percent of Ohio students said

they’ve heard homophobic remarks sometimes, often or frequently among peers. Students heard negative remarks about gender expression almost just as frequently.

› 29 percent of Ohio students said

they’ve heard school personel make homophobic remarks and 25 percent said they’ve regularly heard negative remarks, about gender expression from a school official.

› Only 8 percent of Ohio students

attend a high school or middle school with a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that includes harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

› Only 7 percent of Ohio students

said their school taught positive representations of LGBT people, history and or events.

Source: The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network surveyed a total of 258 high school and middle school students from Ohio for their 2009 National School Climate Survey. To read more on what they found, visit www.glsen.org.

teacher acts as a voice of reason.

“I like to see teachers put something like this into place, but it’s only certain teachers,” Maddie said. “If I get called a ‘fag’ in my psychology class, my teacher is going to say something, if the same thing happens in (another) class, nothing is going to happen.”

“I’m not begging for kids to get punished for it, but I’m begging for more awareness. All I can do is hope,” Maddie said.

One woman who aspires to bring LGBT teens like Maddie this kind of hope is Nickie Antonio. A Democrat in Lakewood, Nickie was elected to her state representative office in 2010. She is the only openly gay Ohio lawmaker — a facet that provokes other lawmakers to ask personal questions about Nickie’s daughters, her sexual orientation and her relationship with her partner, Jean Kosmac.

“I’m constantly educating my colleagues,” Nickie said.

One issue on which Nickie focuses her political career is LGBT bullying in public schools and what can be done to reduce it. She co-authored one bill this year that, if passed, would require all Ohio school districts to add protections to their anti-bullying policies for groups targeted on specific traits like race, physical and mental disability, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression.

Public school policies won’t be including protected groups anytime soon though. The bill, H.B. 208, is stuck in committee.

24

“I wouldn’t say it is dead — It has been ignored,” Nickie said. Nickie explained that lobbyists representing Ohio school boards oppose H.B. 208 because they fear it will only add more rules and liabilities that school officials can’t fulfill. She said opponents often argue that the best solution is to administer vague and broad policies.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network finds fault with that argument because their own research in a 2005 study shows inclusive anti-bullying policies have a significant effect on student safety.

The study found that students in middle school and high school with a broad anti-bullying policy were more than twice as likely to be bullied based on the their real or perceived sexual orientation than schools with an anti-bullying policy similar to the one Nickie’s bill proposes. The study, which interviewed 196 Ohio students between sixth and 12th grade, found a similar pattern for bullying based on gender identity or expression, race and physical appearance.

“The bottom line is that (LGBT students are) not feeling the policy is protecting them because they’re still a group that, in general, is a more vulnerable group than we know,” Nickie said.

Ohio has more than 600 school districts and more than 600 different types of schooling situations, said Jill Jackson, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Education, who works under the anti-harassment, antiintimidation and anti-bullying department.

Ohio is a local control state, meaning each district implements its own anti-bullying and anti-harassment policies.

SCHOOLS FIGHT AGAINST BULLIES

“If a certain school district has more GLBTQ bullying and intimidation, then we come in and offer the training they need,” Jill said.

Brooklyn High School, located near Cleveland about 40 miles northwest of Maddie’s school in Ravenna, represents one of Ohio’s school districts that has implemented a very strategic and strong anti-bullying policy, including solid LGBT verbiage.

Robert Kelber, a junior level English teacher at Brooklyn High School, teaches an argumentative and persuasive writing unit each year that deals with topics like stereotypes, race, power, gender, religion and, added about five years ago, hot button topics surrounding sexual orientation like gay marriage, gay adoption and gay bullying.

“We’ll tackle all of the different ‘isms’, if you will, in a matter of four weeks,” Robert said.

At the beginning of last semester’s five week unit in his English class, Robert distributed an anonymous bullythemed survey to 50 students. In the survey, he asked each student whether he or she identified with the LGBT community, and if not, was he or she an ally?

Only two students said they were associated with the LGBT community, while all other students identified as an ally.

“When it comes to tolerance,” Robert said, “I’m always shocked to see how many of (the students) are supportive of the issues.”

Like Maddie’s high school, Robert’s school is also located in the suburbs with only a little more than 500 students. Robert said a previous principal implemented this unit into the English department about six years ago. Lesbian and gay issues are also openly discussed in the freshman level health classes, Robert said.

“So many schools are afraid to teach these topics in this day and age, and I think that’s just sad,” Robert said.

“They should be willing to keep an open mind.”

Brooklyn High School has a strong LGBT support network that is missing at Maddie’s school. It won’t be long, however, until Maddie finds the support she needs at Kent State. She’ll be studying hospitality management in the fall with a minor in public relations.

“But come on, my major is probably going to change at least four times!” Maddie said, laughing.

Anticipating a Resident Assistant (RA) position and a spot in student government at Kent State, Maddie hopes to raise awareness of bullying and stop it in its tracks. She said, “When I’m here, I want to do something to make a change, to make things better.

And I’m very, very excited!”

Maddie advises other high school students who are struggling with a bully to focus on their academics because “you have to realize that once you graduate, you’re probably never going to see those people again,” Maddie said. “When you tune that stuff out, it makes a world of difference.” ▼

“So many schools are afraid to teach these topics in this day and age, and I think that’s just sad. They should be willing to keep an open mind.”

His classroom is located in an old, industrial wing of the high school, so Robert doesn’t see a lot of what happens outside his classroom. That’s why he administers the survey.

“I ask them if they see anything because I’m always concerned. I don’t see a lot of what goes on, so that makes them the experts,” Robert said. The students said, for the most part, they don’t see anything.

Robert said his love of taking real life scenarios and applying them in the classroom is what drives him to continue teaching. He said he likes to keep his students informed of what’s going on outside of their textbooks.

When students say their homework assignment is “gay,” Robert replies, “No, it has no sexual preference whatsoever; it’s just a homework assignment that you don’t like. It gets a laugh, but I tell them, ‘See how you put that connotation behind the notion that because you don’t like it, you call it gay?’ For someone who hears this constant negative put down, it sparks only a negative sort of unconscious bullying.”

25

FUSION

Paving Their Way to Prom Mitch Wright needed more than a guest form to bring his date to his senior prom. Like other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender high school students across the nation, Mitch met resistance from school officials when he asked to bring his out-of-school boyfriend, Josh Bird, to prom in 2009. Mitch didn’t back down, and after a local media storm and some legal support by the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, school officials allowed him to bring Josh.

Text by Jackie Bergeron Photos by Jessica Yanesh

Mitch already handed in the paperwork for Josh to attend prom and purchased their tickets before one of the vice principals at Louisville High School told him they couldn’t attend together. The vice principal explained that even though Mitch’s fellow classmates knew he was gay, it wasn’t tradition at the school.

“I started getting mad and was like, ‘Why can’t I? It’s a public school,’” Mitch said. “They said it was part of their policy, and yet it wasn’t on any of the paperwork. I knew why I wasn’t allowed—because I was gay.”

The news came on the last day of tickets sales. With less than 24 hours to figure out what they were going to do, Mitch and Josh decided to go to prom separately with two female friends. Mitch purchased two more tickets but still tried to figure out what to do.

Josh urged him to fight back.

Josh was attending college at Case Western Reserve University at the time. He said being in college had shown him how much freedom he really had.

“Seeing what the world was like outside of East Canton and Louisville,” Josh said. “It really made me wanna push for it.”

“I was mad to begin with, but once (Josh) was mad, I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do something about it,’” Mitch said.

28

Some of his friends created a petition. They collected 244 signatures comprising mostly of the senior class, as well as some juniors who were also going to prom.

Although the petition was never handed to a school administrator, Mitch said he felt he had a lot of support.

Mitch and Josh contacted Carrie Davis, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Ohio, who was happy to help. The next day, Mitch received an email from her asking permission to send out a press release using their names. Mitch said he declined because he has “very conservative family members.” When press releases or letters were shown on the news, their names were blacked out.

The next day, Mitch’s first period study hall class was buzzing about the news before he even had a chance to see the newspaper.

“I was surprised it made the front page,” Mitch said.

“The Canton Repository is known for being super conservative.”

Besides the Canton Repository and Fox 8, the story appeared on the ACLU’s website, the Detroit News and the National Youth Rights Association’s website. Mitch said one of his friends saw it on CNN. The ACLU also faxed and mailed a letter via to Louisville High School principal, Steve Milano. The group posted the letter and a short summary of the

Mitch Wright, right and his out-ofschool boyfriend, Josh Bird, managed to go to prom together in 2009 despite some stern resistance from school officials. (Photo courtesy of Mitch Wright)

story on its website. The letter cited federal court cases in which the exclusion of same-sex couples at prom was found to be a violation of the First Amendment and Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The letter also stated the ACLU would pursue further action on behalf of Mitch if school officials did not reverse their decision.

The letter was sent on April 21, 2009. By April 23, the school overturned its decision. Mitch said Principal Milano came to him, shook his hand and said there wasn’t a problem.

“It was kind of fishy,” Mitch said. “Fox 8 was reporting (that) the school board was saying there was no problem, and it was a misunderstanding, and yet clearly I was told we couldn’t go.”

It wasn’t over yet. Because Mitch had to buy four tickets, there was some confusion at the door on prom night. They were given a hard time when trying to enter because the ticket numbers didn’t match the corresponding numbers on the list.

“The only reason they were making a big deal out of it is because they gave out gifts at the end of the night,” Josh said. “If your ticket didn’t match up with your name, you didn’t get a gift. I literally said, ‘I don’t care about door prizes; I just want to go to prom.’”

One of Mitch’s teachers, who was chaperoning the dance, was able to clear up the misunderstanding.

Finally, they were allowed to enjoy prom.

Louisville High School didn’t respond to interview requests via phone and email, but its extensive student

29

handbook outlines requirements of a prom date. It states an age limit (as young as freshmen or as old as 22) but says nothing about same-sex couples.

Mike Brickner, the director of communications and public policy at ACLU, said the school district also told the ACLU it would allow future students to bring samesex dates to prom.

Mitch and Josh are still together and both attend Kent State. Mitch is a junior interior design major and Josh is a senior visual communication design major.

Both Mitch and Josh said challenging the school’s decision was important, and they would do it again.

“I hope it changed something,” Mitch said. “In the end, I really wasn’t doing it just for me. I was doing it for anyone who wanted to take their boyfriend or girlfriend to prom.”

“Kids for years and years and years have gone stag with a group of guys, or a group of young women … and they’re never given a hard time,” Mike said. “If two or three or four gay students want to go together, they’re given a hard time and are not permitted to go.”

“Sometimes, I think, these go unreported in a lot of instances. We’re just glad to be out there pushing for greater acceptance when we can … For every kid like Mitch, there’s probably a dozen others who didn’t have the opportunity to, or weren’t able to speak up for their rights.”▼

Prom is So Gay Every year prom lures Barbie girls, horny jocks, forgotten wallflowers and armies of hopeful nerds to ballrooms and gymnasiums across the country. Meanwhile, the lonely hearts stay home.

For the gays, prom is the night to get down and dirty and let their inner-queen shine. This is how shit goes down, LGBT style.

Visit OhioFusion.com to watch the production of this issue’s prom photo spread.

The truth is, dad wasn’t so good at the “prom” thing. So mom’s living vicariously through you.

She found what she was looking for.

Obviously, it wasn’t flowers ... or him.

She should have known better. He loaned her the shoes and did her hair.

Waiting for your friends in the Bathroom can be such a drag.

Leave some room for Jesus!

They already choreographed the King and Queen dance. #Awkward

Your boyfriend might have dipped out, but at least you’ll always have Ben, Jerry and your mom.

DRAG Who they are under the makeup.

One thing is certain: Nick and Greg know who they are, even under several layers of clothing, makeup and wigs.

They spend hours rehearsing and preparing for their few minutes in the spotlight. For these two gentlemen, being a drag queen is not about being somebody else. It’s a chance to express another side of themselves.

Just like professional athletes or actors, Nick and Greg have dreams and aspirations outside of performing.

They are drag queens, but that’s what they do, not who they are.

WHO THEY ARE UNDER ALL THE MAKEUP

Text by Rachel Hagenbaugh Photos by Jim Lightcap

Nicholas Sinatra, 23, Stow “I just thought he was pretty.”

Nick doesn’t exactly have a manly build at 6 feet tall and 155 pounds. His mom used to accuse him of dressing like a woman years before he became a drag queen.

“I have a small build, so I wear skinnier jeans,” Nick said.

“But she thought I was wearing girls’ jeans.”

Nick wasn’t into wearing female clothes, but he began experimenting with makeup when he was four years old.

“My mom came into the bathroom, and I had a face full of concealer, makeup and lipstick on,” Nick said. “I used to play with Barbie doll shoes, too, yet she claims she didn’t know I was gay until I actually told her.”

Nick always knew he was gay, starting with his first crush in preschool.

“I followed him around and I didn’t know why,” Nick said.

“I just thought he was pretty.”

Nick kept up appearances by playing it straight for years. When the teacher told the class to line up in elementary school, Nick stood with the girls. In sixth grade, he bought presents for the girls in his class for Valentine’s Day. “I never considered myself removed from being a boy,” Nick said. “I just never connected with them well.”

seemed sorry for how they had treated him in the past.

“It was largely me trying to rebuild connections with them,” Nick said. “I don’t want to be estranged from my parents.”

Nick moved back home for about six months, but it didn’t work out well. He hadn’t performed a drag show since he’d been home. He never told his parents that he was a drag queen, but they figured it out by themselves.

“My mother would ask me why I couldn’t just be normal,” Nick said. “It never occurred to me that I wasn’t being myself.”

Nick said he came home from a show one night and a few days later his father got drunk and ridiculed him for performing drag. Nick moved out again and didn’t return to college because of financial struggles.

“If I didn’t have the friends who were so willing to help out and let me live with them, I’d probably be out on the street or in a really bad environment,” Nick said.

“She’s the goofy side to serious me.”

Nick is an artist by trade. He specializes in fashion design but also writes, draws and blogs. He works with fabric, jewelry, hair and makeup and has several blogs about fashion design. One blog is about men’s fashion.

“It’s more than nitty gritty,” Nick said. “It’s not like GQ that works with designer clothes. My blog is about how to make your basics work for you.”

Nick never dated in high school, even after he came out.

He grew up in a small town and didn’t start dating until he got to Kent State. Nick said he can’t even remember his first date, only a jumble of people he never hit it off with.

Another blog portrays Nick’s drag persona, Eris LaMorte.

Nick hasn’t been in a serious relationship since he’s started performing at drag shows. He mentioned it once to a guy he was dating. He didn’t respond well.

Nick said some drag queens use their alter ego to say or do things that aren’t part of their nature, but that wasn’t the case for him.

Some gay men unfairly judge drag queens, Nick said.

“Sometimes they think you have to be transgender to be a drag queen,” Nick said. “That’s not true. I am very happy being a guy.”

“Why can’t you just be normal?”

Before Nick’s parents found out he was a drag queen, they weren’t accepting of his sexuality. He tried going home for the summer after his freshman year at Kent State, but his parents told him he was not welcome to live there anymore. Nick stayed with a friend in Kent until he got his own apartment and lived by himself for two years.

Following his junior year, he attempted to move back to his parent’s house. Part of the reason he tried to go back was related to finances, but he said his parents also

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One of Eris’ obsessions is the movie “Black Swan,” and a goal of hers is to dance a choreographed number from the film in a drag show.

“She was kind of a part of me already,” Nick said. “She’s the goofy side to serious me... She’s a fun character to play. She forces me to chill out sometimes.”

Eris is playful, has a colorful wardrobe and often changes her hair color. Nick said that’s where Eris and him differ: He has never changed his hair color and prefers to dress in neutral colors.

WHO THEY ARE UNDER ALL THE MAKEUP

“Did you eat your lipstick?”

Before Nick started performing, he made costumes and did his friend Manuela Love’s makeup for drag shows.

Manuela, who wishes to keep her real name anonymous, and Nick have been close friends for five years. The first time Nick performed as Eris, he did a duet with Manuela while wearing six-inch stilettos.

“For all the modeling and stage performing I’ve done, I was shaking in my shoes.” Nick said.

Nick’s biological family may not support his lifestyle, but his drag family does. Alejandra Love, his “drag mother,” asked Eris to be her drag daughter one night in their dressing room – the back of a U-Haul at Inferno Night Club in Akron.

Eris was flattered but had to get permission from Manuela, who was already Alejandra’s drag daughter.

“We’d been friends for years, so she was thrilled to be my drag sister,” Nick said.

Eris, Alejandra and Manuela are now a drag family, and they sometimes perform at the same venues, hang out and help each other get dressed. Like a family, they also stand up for one another.

30,000 students for small jobs. It was time to get the ball rolling with my career.”

Ultimately, Nick wants to work in the beauty industry and be a designer, but he’d like to continue performing.

Before he came to New York, he started networking with drag queens in the area through Facebook. Some city queens have positive experiences, while others say it’s a lot more intense than small-town drag shows.

Nick said he doesn’t want to continue drag if it’s going to compromise his comfort level. He performs to perfect his makeup skills and have fun.

“I’ll go against the grain to perform, but I won’t turn my life upside-down for it,” Nick said. “It’s not integral to my existence.”

Nick cares more about designing drag clothes than performing. He said high fashion and drag couture are the same thing, only one is in men’s sizes and the other is women’s. They’re both over-the-top, theatrical designs that include rhinestones and shiny fabric.

“Drag is an industry I’d like to stay a part of,” Nick said.

“The characters are definitely worth sticking around and getting to know.”

“Sometimes they think you have to be transgender to be a drag queen.

That’s not true. I am very happy being a guy.”

One night at Inferno, another queen was picking on Eris .

“The queen kept making fun of me for putting on gloss instead of lipstick,” Nick said.

Alejandra stood up for Nick with a sarcastic remark.

“She turns to me and says, ‘Bitch, please. Did you eat your lipstick?’”

That’s what being a drag family is all about – being there for each other.

“If I didn’t have their support, I probably wouldn’t be performing,” Nick said.

“Time to get the ball rolling” February was a turning point in Nick’s life. He landed two internships in New York with jewelry designer Shannon Shiang and ORA, a public relations and consulting firm for trend reports on hair, hand bags and accessories.

“I was miserable in Kent,” Nick said. “I was fighting with

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Photo by Kay Abshire

WHO THEY ARE UNDER ALL THE MAKEUP

Gregory Hatch, 27, Lakewood “Rainbow Eyelashes” Greg is an easy person to spot in a crowd. He’s more than 6 feet tall with red hair, freckles and a heavyset build. He’s in the back of the Essence Beauty Mart in Akron, picking out a flashy costume necklace. He likes the red and gold one better, but the multi-colored necklace will go with more outfits.

Greg also needs more eyelashes. He said he likes the shiny rainbow kind, but they’re a waste of money — they don’t stand out enough for anyone to notice them at the drag shows. He instead picks a simple pair.

He walks by the tables of high heeled shoes and boots, laughs and doesn’t even stop. Greg doesn’t buy his shoes here; he has to special order shoes because his feet are too big. Depending on the brand, he needs either a size 14 or 16 in women’s shoes.

“Dragzilla” Greg grew up in a small town about 20 minutes south of Akron. He went to Manchester High School, where being gay wasn’t exactly socially acceptable. He came out when he was 16 with his parents’ support.

“That’s the same way they feel about me performing drag,” Greg said. “They may not understand it, but they support it.”

As a drag queen, Greg is almost 7 feet tall in heels. He likes to call himself “Dragzilla,” but his official drag name is Helen Ohio.

Greg began designing costumes at a small shop in his hometown called Akron Design and Costume. When he came to Kent State, he got involved in fashion shows on campus, designing clothes for Rock the Runway and the Beaux Arts Ball.

He graduated from Kent State in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in art history and a master’s degree in library and information science. His goal is to attend Ohio University and get a second master’s degree in Fine Arts Sculpture and Extended Arts. Ultimately, he said he wants to be a teacher.

“I like to help people,” Greg said. “But I’ve always wanted to perform as well.”

Greg has a busy schedule that includes a 40-hour work week at Morgan Communities, a leasing company, and working on his photography and sculptures.

Greg started preforming in drag shows after he got married. His husband, Chris Hyde, 27, wasn’t crazy about the idea but he accepted it, Greg said.

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“Flirty-sexy” Greg said he started doing drag because it was a way to be a “little more fearless” as he has always been selfconscious.

“I’m not really built like a man or a woman,” Greg said.

“I have broad shoulders, but my hips are wider like a woman’s.”

He said the things he was most self-conscious about as a male are some of his best attributes as a female. His hips and breasts are aspects of his body that he is proud to show off as a drag queen.

“Performing drag helped me be more comfortable with who I was as a person,” Greg said.

Getting dressed for drag shows is still a lot of work for Greg. He wears a gaff, which is tight underwear, four pairs of pantyhose, a girdle and a bra. He tapes his boobs together and completes the ensemble with a body suit.

He then puts on two colors of cream foundation, two setting powders, a highlight color, contour color and blending powder. He puts on at least five colors of eye shadow and three colors of lipstick at once. The whole process takes about two hours.

“The variety of colors gives my face dimension,” Greg said. “The goal is still to have a natural look.”

Both Helen and Greg are red-haired and flirty class clowns.

“I use my family and myself as a point of reference when I pick out her outfits,” Greg said. “We joke that I (Helen) was blessed with my grandmother’s boobs.”

Greg said he doesn’t take being a drag queen emotionally, but he takes his job seriously.

Some queens are provocative and serious about their drag persona. Some are dramatic or do things that aren’t professional. They get drunk during performances, hit on the bartenders or disrespect other queens. Greg said he doesn’t act that way because he sees performing drag as a job, not a lifestyle.

Greg said his drag persona isn’t glamorous, but she’s someone who people respect and enjoy watching. She has a few rules when she performs: Always be nice to the staff at the bar, respect all the entertainers and be courteous and gracious.

“I think I get invited back because of the attitude I have about drag,” Greg said. “I love what I do, and I’m not ashamed of it.” ▼

FUSION

Life After College One student, one graduate and one dropout tell their stories about love, life and what will come after college.

Text by Kelli Fitzpatrick Photos by Phillip Botta

Joe: Counting the days until he can leave Ohio behind Joe Barbicas was something of a trendsetter at his Catholic high school in Cleveland. When he came out his freshman year, a female student followed suit, and it seemed to catch on.

“All of a sudden, all of these people were coming out,” Joe said. “By the time we were seniors, the high school was known as a ‘gay high school.’”

But when he came out, his family didn’t react well.

Joe’s two brothers were accepting, but the rest of his “dysfunctional” family reacted with hostility, further provoking his desire to move out of state. His distaste for Ohio’s lack of equality laws also pushed him in that direction.

“My plan ever since I was little was to leave Ohio,” Joe said. “I know it’s getting better, but I’m not sticking around for it. I want to live somewhere that is good to gay people right now.”

Finding peace in Akron Joe, a junior nursing major at the University of Akron, said living in the city has been an interesting experience so far.

“There’s so many people who come from rural areas who have never met an openly gay person,” he said.

“I’m their first person and they ask the stereotypical questions.”

Joe said he has had some “party situations” with homophobic encounters. He feels Cleveland offers more LGBT support, especially in its theater and arts venues, but he is happy in Akron. He is the vice president of LGBT Union, which he has watched grow over his three years at Akron.

“When I was a freshman, they didn’t know what they were doing. We didn’t really know our position on campus,” Joe said. “As soon as we made slight changes,

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12 members each week (turned into) 60 to 70 returning members.”

Although Joe has found happiness at Akron, he didn’t have that at home in Cleveland.

Joe’s father passed away when Joe was 6 years old.

“I’ve been told (my dad) was the one who would’ve accepted me when I came out,” Joe said. “I only had my mother left. She and my entire family on that side are mystic Catholic. To say (they are) ‘devout’ would be an understatement.”

Needless to say, his religious family members didn’t accept his sexuality, and Joe looked into going to school outside the area.

“Leaving Cleveland for Akron was a good step,” Joe said.

“I’ve had suicidal attempts here. It’s sad to think about, but I know that was a part of me and I’m breaking away from it.”

California-bound?

Joe said he will move out of state upon graduation to break free from his unsupportive family and lack of equality laws in Ohio.

“It’s more than just a thing of being last in gay rights: My childhood here wasn’t good … I want to get out and leave everything that happened in Ohio behind me,” Joe said.

He always thought about moving to New York City, but after trying a long-distance relationship with a boyfriend who lived there, “it doesn’t look as nice as I thought it would be,” he said. “Now I’m thinking California. You can’t get much farther from Ohio without leaving the country.”

LIFE AFTER COLLEGE

Joe said he can relocate because a nursing career is possible in any area. Joe is a patient care assistant at Robinson Memorial Hospital and wants to work in a trauma center after graduation.

Nurses are “needed everywhere; I’m very lucky in that respect,” he said. “And nurses get paid very nicely in both (California and New York).”

Joe aims for California because it has equality laws to protect LGBT people from getting fired or being denied housing because of their sexuality. He also hopes to work in a hospital that respects and accommodates the LGBT community.

“This is more than just getting married. This is your career too,” he said. “You’ll find in California, there are a lot more diverse hospitals that support their LGBT staff and patients. (With) my activist side and my nursing side, I’d like to combine both of them at some point.”

As vice president of LGBTU, Joe said he’s doing what he can for the LGBT community in Ohio while he is here.

He’s looking to live anywhere outside of Ohio after graduation, but Joe said “it’s sad that so many of us are leaving Ohio because Ohio could potentially be a battleground state (for LGBT rights), which is very exciting. But they can’t do it without the youth behind them, and that includes the youth that just graduated college.”

Bryan: Explored the country and came home to Kent… for now Bryan Guffey graduated from Kent State in 2006 with a musical theatre degree. He then bounced around from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin to New York and dove in to his dream job — or so he thought.

“I booked a tour, which sucked the love of theater right out of me because I spent six months driving around the cold, cold tundra of the northeastern quadrant of the United States,” Bryan said.

Bryan pursued jobs in other areas of the country but returned to Kent in 2011 in hopes of starting a home and recapturing his college days.

The ups and downs of gay Kent Bryan was destined for fame, starting when he was a college freshman. His first week on campus, a hypnotist came to entertain the freshman class and called on Bryan to participate in his act.

“For (the next) four years, I was the guy who got hypnotized. I think I danced like Michael Jackson,” he recalled. After that, “I couldn’t go 30 feet without running into someone I knew.”

While building his popularity, Bryan said he never had a problem with being gay on campus or in Kent.

“Now, that may be because I am 6 foot 5 and nobody thinks to mess with me, because I know friends who

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have had problems,” Bryan said. “But I found the administration very supportive.”

Bryan faced no adversity on campus but said the dating scene in Ohio is not so easy.

“It’s especially interesting because I’m not just gay; I’m gay and black,” he said. “I find that gay folks around here tend to be a little less open-minded in a lot of ways.

Most white gay guys are only interested in white gay guys.”

Bryan said he has never seen it like that because he comes from an interracial couple: his dad is white and his mom is black.

“I’m attracted to white guys,” he said. “Northeast Ohio‘s not necessarily as tolerant of the entire spectrum of humanity and the slice that is LGBT. I think Northeast Ohio and Kent — Akron even more so — play into the stereotypes that are perceived on TV … because the community kind of congregates around those areas: the bars, the clubs. There’s not a really great non-bar or club outlet around here, minus my fraternity.”

Bryan is a member and adviser of Delta Lambda Phi, “founded by gay men for all men,” he said. He considers the fraternity his “second family.”

After building a family in Kent, Bryan graduated and set his sights on musical theater fame.

To New York and back Bryan soon experienced the not-so-glamorous side of theater life in New York.

“We were paid next to nothing, we had to drive ourselves (and) had to perform at 10 in the morning,” he said.

Bryan then produced a benefit concert for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network with his friend.

They raised more than $10,000 for the foundation.

Next, he got a job singing on a cruise ship for four months, enjoying the travel but looking to move back to Ohio.

“I was ready to build a home,” he said. “The cruise was a good way to make that transition. I love Kent State, and I always said one of my dreams was working for Kent.”

Bryan relocated to Mayfield Heights, Willoughby and finally Kent. He found that Ohio had qualities he had missed in New York.

“People are nicer, the pace is slower,” he said. “You think in a place with that many people, it would be easy to make tons of friends. (But) it’s easier to make friends here. Everybody’s doing their own thing (in New York) with their own little blinders on.”

Bryan settled down again in Kent to relive his memorable college years.

LIFE AFTER COLLEGE

“One of the reasons I wanted to move back to Ohio (is that) nobody tells you what it’s like to graduate and live in the real world — it sucks!” he said. “I almost thought that I could recapture what it was like to be a college student … (but) you can’t. You’re not the same person anymore. You grow up.”

Kyle: Left Ohio for love, diversity and San Francisco Kyle Bullen is from the tiny town of New Springfield, Ohio. He graduated high school in 2004 with a class of 96 and spent two years at the University of Pittsburgh, studying communication and theatre art.

Focused on opportunity

It was then he fell in love.

Bryan now manages the help desk of operations at an IT firm that helps non-profit groups.

During his freshman year in college, Kyle met Paul Knight for ice cream after talking on MySpace. The two started dating and soon realized they weren’t exactly happy in their current situations.

“One of the big reasons I want to be in the area is family, both my biological family — my father lives 40 minutes away, my mother is living in Pennsylvania — and my fraternity,” Bryan said. “Honestly, giving back to Kent State is really important to me. I grew a lot in college and it was thanks to the faculty and administration and everybody at Kent. I want people to have that opportunity as well.”

But he is also open to moving again, if life takes him in that direction.

“Having the best opportunities is becoming more important than living in Kent,” Bryan said.

Still, he said working for Kent could keep him in the area long-term.

“I would not mind staying in Kent. The opportunities in Kent and the surrounding Northeast Ohio area would be something that would keep me here,” Bryan said. He has considered Boston, Pittsburgh and Vancouver, but “if I could have the job I wanted, make the kind of money I needed and do it around here and be fulfilled, that would be my first choice.”

Bryan said he would also like to remain in the area to take advantage of the community’s opportunity to grow.

“There’s still so much work to be done. It’s very easy to get in on the ground floor and make a difference (with the LGBT community),” he said. “It’s not so much the case in other areas. I think this is really the time.”

But until then, he will begin his master’s in higher education administration and student affairs in the Fall 2013 semester, possibly returning to Kent State.

No matter which graduate school he chooses, Bryan’s ultimate goal is to start a non-profit LGBT youth foundation. For now, his advice to college students is to take advantage of opportunities, no matter where they might take them.

“It’s important that you leave yourself open to options and listen to your heart,” he said. “You can be anything you want to be, anywhere you want to do it. It may be harder in some places, but I believe when things are harder, they are more fulfilling.”

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“We decided not to go back to school and jump in my Jeep to drive across the country,” Kyle said.

Their destination: San Francisco.

Growing up in small-town infamy Kyle’s family has lived in New Springfield since 1920 and are well-known in the “little town public eye,” Kyle said. The attention made it difficult to deal with feeling like an outsider in a school system with no LGBT resources.

“Going into sophomore year, I became so depressed I was suicidal for the better part of high school,” Kyle said. “No one would ever know it because my family, being all in sports, we couldn’t (have a negative image).

I didn’t feel like I could come out (because) I had to worry about what that meant for my family too.”

Once Kyle started college, he realized he needed help.

“There was this whole entire half of me who was tortured and didn’t want to live,” he said. “There was a moment where I had to make a choice: get help or walk in front of a bus.”

So he talked to school psychologists and realized he could come out without drastic consequences. He also found support through the Rainbow Alliance at school.

“There’s a loving quality about Ohio, (but) there was nothing to identify with and no support structure … so you just assume it’s close-minded and you’re a screwed gay kid,” Kyle said. “But Pittsburgh offered a little more open-mindedness because it’s a city and it’s more rich in diversity.”

Kyle came out his freshman year and experienced both sides of the city’s attitudes towards his lifestyle. He said a gay couple holding hands could incite both rude and supportive comments.

Kyle and Paul started dating that year and quickly became serious. They decided to start something new together.

Photo courtesy of by Kyle Bullen Taken by Scott Marrs

LIFE AFTER COLLEGE

“He didn’t like being in school and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do,” Kyle said. “I knew I was paying way too much money just to do anything.”

So Paul dropped out of Point Park University, Kyle left Pitt and they chose to find haven in San Francisco.

“We decided, on some level, to run away from it all, start fresh and get a whole new perspective on life,” Kyle said. “(We were) running away from the past … and how we felt, even though you carry that with you no matter where you go.”

Kyle said once they made their decision, there was no stopping them.

“I do things my parents wouldn’t necessarily want me to do, like be gay, for one,” he said. “I was so desperately in love, I thought this was the only way Paul and I could be together, but it was impractical.”

Practical or not, Kyle found acceptance and opportunities in San Francisco. He appreciated the city’s environmentally conscious vibe and the lack of conflicting views of homosexuality Pittsburgh had.

“The general feeling of San Francisco is very accepting.

It’s a very eclectic crowd, and life is just open and beautiful, from the weather to the people to the nightlife,” Kyle said. “Growing up in Ohio, you don’t really get that at all.”

That’s exactly what he’s been able to do when he brings Paul home to Ohio. Kyle’s family and friends have grown to be comfortable and accept his relationship with Paul.

“People are more interested in what I’m doing with my life and my happiness, rather than the fact that my happiness means I’m with another guy,” Kyle said. “I look back on (Ohio) and I would never give it up for the world. Those years give you an experience of life that once you come out of them, you can then help others.”

Kyle said LGBT college students should follow their happiness.

“We’re not meant to be depressed or sad. If finishing school makes you absolutely miserable, you need to address it and walk away,” he said. “If staying in Ohio makes you happy, then stay in Ohio. If you trust that you deserve happiness, then it will all work out and fall into place.”

Kyle has not returned to school, but he hasn’t ruled it out as an option.

“The way I treat life, in terms of constantly learning, is my school,” he said. “If it does guide me to formal education again, then that’s what I need to do. (But) I’m going to move forward with the business and view life as school.” ▼

If a region only has one viewpoint, how can you have ill feelings toward that when, instead, you have the opportunity to leave, go experience something new and bring it back with you to that area?”

In 2010, Kyle and Paul went through another life change.

“At that point, we were both really kind of confused about ourselves in our relationship,” Kyle said. “We went to our separate cities to work on ourselves.”

Kyle moved to New York City to take a position as a beverage manager for a vegan restaurant, and Paul enrolled at Columbia College in Chicago to study early childhood education.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead Kyle and Paul have been together for more than 6 years now, “long distance but still in love.” Paul has a year left in school, and Kyle plans to open a bar consulting and cocktail design business. He hopes to work with restaurants to set up eco-friendly menus and bar programs.

Kyle said experiencing life in different cities was “a huge part of coming to terms with the viewpoints I grew up with. If a region only has one viewpoint, how can you have ill feelings toward that when, instead, you have the opportunity to leave, go experience something new and bring it back with you to that area?”

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Thousands Rally for Ohio’s Marriage Equality Text by Katy Coduto Photos by Hannah Potes and Jessica Yanesh Nearly 3,700 people descended on Lakeside Avenue in front of Cleveland City Hall to rally for marriage equality on March 24.

Although the rally was organized with the help of numerous people and organizations, including Equality Ohio, GetEQUAL Ohio and the City of Cleveland, none of it would be possible without the ambition of 17-yearold high school senior Adam Hoover. Adam founded the first marriage equality rally in Cincinnati less than six months ago, mostly using Facebook.

“I got online, I started meeting a lot of the gay community, a lot of the activists,” he said. “You come to the point where you realize

there’s more than just yourself out there.”

In addition to a number of speakers on City Hall steps, there were also two large wedding ceremonies held at the Galleria. Two-hundred and seventy-two couples got married, Adam said.

“That’s the final amount of marriage certificates that were filled out,” he said.

While the certificates aren’t official, the marriages could be recognized if (and when) Ohio legalizes gay marriage. ▼ Visit OhioFusion.com to watch a video story of the massive rally and scan through a photo gallery.

FUSION

Collecting a Community Media outlet and historical society work together to capture, recognize and remember Ohio’s LGBT past.

Text by Nicole Stempak Illustration by Emily Rabatsky

A bar lamp, drag queen show photos, a memorial service flyer for Matthew Shepard, diaries and PRIDE! parade banners — they’re all part of Ohio’s LGBT history. Until recently, they were tucked away, in boxes or at the local gay bar. They were regarded as personal belongings, keepsakes, décor or even trash.

The Gay Ohio History Initiative is spreading the word that those artifacts and papers are worthy of preserving for future generations. GOHI is collecting, recording, displaying and archiving the history of Ohio’s LGBT culture, rights and members though oral histories, historical markers, exhibits and banners.

“We, as a community, are horrible at collecting our own history,” said Chris Hayes, executive director of GOHI and editor of Outlook Monthly. “In order for us to get our rights, people have to be exposed to LGBT culture and to try to understand it in some way. This is a way to get our stories out there and show the world that we are a lot more normal than what they give us credit for.”

The idea for GOHI began in 2005 after Columbus-based Outlook Media ran a sponsored column about the LGBT archives at the Ohio Historical Society. The archives were news to staff, who then phoned OHS to see if it needed any past issues.

“It was a way of us preserving our own company history as well as offering resources to the whole community in a place that would take care of them and that anyone could go in and access,” Chris said. When Outlook staff presented the magazines, someone asked if OHS would be interested in some of the materials from the now– closed Out on Main, a popular restaurant that filled its walls with LGBT memorabilia.

GOHI is a community-based project with a volunteer board of trustees that examines the collection and determines what will be eventually housed in the Historical Society’s archives.

“Instead of OHS going out to collect stuff and saying ‘This is what history is,’ the community collects what they find important, and then (submits) it to OHS and [says]‘This is our history that we want to preserve,’” Chris said.

The collection is small but growing. It includes nearly every issue from regional newsletters, records from organizations like Stonewall Columbus, flags from the Columbus-based LGBT color guard group, Flaggots, along with material from the Human Rights Campaign and photographs from PRIDE! parades.

“Each part makes up a piece of our history,” Chris said.

“We wanted to make sure that we tried to really capture the whole LGBT in Ohio as a community and really make people think about us, that we have a rich, diverse community. There’s a whole culture behind it worth preserving.”

Simply put, “we’re here and we’re queer,” said James Sanders III, GOHI secretary and associate art education professor at Ohio State University. “Without a past we have no future.”

Stacia Kuceyeski, project director for the Ohio Historical Society’s Outreach Projects Department, said she enjoys reading through old magazines of Outlook and seeing how the issues then are still issues now. She said the oldest item in the collection dates back to the 1970s.

OHS was interested, and the two organizations “We don’t have anything that’s super old, but it’s cool to continued meeting as the initiative continued to evolve. hold that stuff in your hand, especially something that At the time, OHS was exploring a new collecting model would have been considered subversive at the time,” for contemporary history and specifically multicultural Stacia said. “I mean, (being gay) still would have been communities. GOHI is the first collection using this considered a psychiatric disorder.” new model, which is supported through fundraising and donations.

After getting involved with GOHI, Stacia decided to pursue her master’s degree. Her thesis project, advised

by James, was a case study for GOHI’s organization model.

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COLLECTING THE COMMUNITY

More information on GOHI

› GOHI has a banner on notable Ohio

LGBT members and the history of LGBT parades in the state that can be requested by any person or organization. In 2009, it posted a historical marker in Dayton honoring Natalie Clifford Barney, a noted lesbian writer.

› GOHI’s collection is viewable online

at http://www.ohiomemory.org, and is integrated into the Historical Society’s regular Archives Library.

People can walk into the Archives room without an appointment and page through any of the items for free.

LGBT members’ stories are also being preserved through the Ohio Memory Project.

› Anyone interested in making a

donation to GOHI can contact Chris Hayes at 614-268-8525.

Part of the challenge GOHI faces is creating a structure and collecting both present and past material. Stacia said it can be difficult to convince those who have been invisible, or looked down upon, by mainstream society that their lives are worth preserving. What’s more, LGBT people or their families may not have kept memorabilia that would have identified them as gay or lesbian.

“You’re telling people that their life is historically significant,” she said. “Some people take that better than others.”

Members of the LGBT community have made contributions to society, but their sexuality is rarely mentioned in textbooks. OHS aims to educate teachers through professional development seminars, which then gives them materials to take back to the classroom. College classes have also taken field trips to OHS to learn about the archives.

James worked with Stacia and her co-workers to develop a seminar for social studies teachers on the influence of LGBT individuals on American culture.

Stacia said one of the teachers asked if they don’t talk about how George Washington was straight, why should they have to talk about LGBT people?

“The presenter was like, ‘Well, when you talk about George Washington, you talk about his wife,’” she said. “You don’t think about that kind of stuff if you haven’t been challenged to think like that.”

Chris said the organization still has a ways to go to get the word out about the collections.

“It’s nowhere near a complete picture at all,” he said.▼

64

A Night to Remember: Readers Share Their LGBT Prom Experiences Stories gathered by Justin Lagore

“Prom 2011 was a mixture of feelings, especially when you throw in that I wanted to bring my same-sex partner. When my date and I bought our tickets, I was so relieved that the teacher didn’t say anything about me taking a girl with me to prom. Then again, there was nothing she could do. We both were entitled to go to the dance, plus the same teacher approved of my tuxedo at my junior prom. I had already expressed my uniqueness at school and its dances, so I figured bringing my girlfriend at the time was nothing different.

I was slightly wrong about that, but it took me time to realize. I remember I wore a dress for my mother to be happy and heels for my girlfriend, because she insisted I look taller than her.

I felt so uncomfortable dressed up with my feet screaming from the pain of experiencing heels for the first time in ages, but I stayed calm and was content because I was happy that I had an amazing girl with me. Everything went well. Of course there is the usual fuss of getting ready, pictures with friends, dinner and so on, but overall it was all normal. Once we got to the actual prom it was a bit different. Everyone stared at some point. If it wasn’t because I was in a dress, it was definitely because no one thought I would seriously bring my girlfriend as my date to prom. I have an amazing group of friends who stood by me throughout everything that happened, and even at prom I remember them always being around keeping things cool.

I really enjoyed my prom. It was an amazing night and was truly worth all of the effort I put in. I didn't care what other people said or thought. I only cared that my girlfriend and my friends could enjoy the prom to its fullest. It wasn’t until the dance was almost over that I came to find out that the same teacher who sold me tickets to the dance had been trying to find a way to stop same-sex couples from attending the dance. The fact that someone would actually try doing that made me so mad, but the realization that she failed to do so made it a bit better in my mind. Yes, prom was a big mixture of emotions and interesting events, and overall I am grateful that prom went so well for me.”

– Tori Swarm, freshman exploratory “I took my boyfriend to my senior prom, and I figured out a plan to make it work. I had my best friend and exgirlfriend take him while I took a sophomore girl so she could be there with her boyfriend. Even though I had the balls to take him, I still wanted to play it safe with the school so that we were able to go.

I had support from all of my friends. Even the ones I wasn't as close to. Not that I really spent time with many of my friends, but the ones that I talked to in school were the ones who supported me the most. I also had the support of our amazing band director. As for my family, the only ones who knew about us were my aunt and my mother, who have no problem with who I am. As my boyfriend and I arrived, all of my friends

were saying how cute we were and how happy seeing us made them. While there, we ran into my English teacher at the time and the librarian, who I saw on a daily basis. They told me they were proud of me for bringing him and had no problem with it. Though there were students who gossiped about what I did, I didn't let them bother me.”

– Derek Taylor, 2011 Big Walnut High School graduate “I went to my senior prom, but I didn't have a same-sex partner. Homosexuality was kept somewhat hush-hush because of the risk of being hurt because of my small, hick, close-minded, super-conservative republican town. I took my best friend, as neither of us had a date (and we were pretty much the only seniors that went that didn't). No one saw us as "together" so we didn't have any problems. However, my freshman year, one of my closest friends took her girlfriend to prom. They both had to fill out this form saying that they were lesbians and had to have their parents sign it (so if they wouldn't have been out to their families, they were outed by this stupid form) and submit it to the school.

They weren't allowed to get as touchy-feely as all the other heterosexual couples, but they still managed to have a good time and turn a lot of heads. “ – Courtney Thaman, freshman psychology “The hardest part of all of it was getting Maddie’s outfit picked out. Her mother wanted her to wear a dress, but Maddie personally wanted to wear dress pants and a dress shirt. After hours of shopping (and Maddie trying on copious amounts of dresses and having a mental breakdown) they finally settled on dress pants and a shirt from the Gap. However, the only stipulation was she was not allowed to wear a tie.

But actually going to the dance was the easiest part.

When we showed up, Maddie was greeted by all her friends and people she knew. It was never “Oh wow, another lesbian couple” or anything derogatory. It was all positive feedback throughout the night. We got “You guys are so cute!” and even a couple “Get it!” while dancing. Yeah, there were a couple looks (mainly pertaining to who I was, because no one there knew me) but nothing negative was said to us. We had a great time that night.

We also went to her winter formal at Maplewood Career Center. This, however, was not as easy. Maplewood has a very conservative student body, and anything out of the normal is highly noticed. We showed up with her gay, male friend Joe, and the entire night we were getting stares from the people around us, including from some of the faculty. We only danced to one song and ended up leaving after an hour because we truly didn’t feel comfortable. It was hard being the center of attention, not because of a good thing, but because of us being the only lesbian couple there.”

– Whitney Robinson, freshman fashion merchandising