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ROTUNDA
VOL. LXIV
LONGWOOD COLLEGE, FARMVILLE, VIRGINIA TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1984
NO. 4
Gay/Lesbian Students To Join Together By JEFF ABERNATHY Two years ago this November, Longwood's campus was buzzing with news of a gay student's attempt to form a "Discreet Gay Society." An interview with the student in The Rotunda entitled "Running Scared" caused an uproar on campus. Moralizing letters were sent to the newspaper, and the student was soon "discovered" and harassed by numerous other students unmercifully. The reasoning for such treatment? Presumably, the student had committed a grievous sin; he had been brave enough to be frank about his sexuality if only to encourage others to do the same. The result? He and other gays and lesbians on campus were effectively shoved back into the closet. Unpermissive Longwood had does the shoving, and homosexuals on campus have
literally been forced to stay "in hiding" ever since. This fall, however, the subject of homosexuality will appear on campus again. Student Development Educator Barbara Gorski has been talking to gays and lesbians on campus in an effort to help them feel more accepted at Longwood. A dinner is being planned for mid-October, and an effort will be made to show homosexuals that they have the support of the students, administrators and faculty at Longwood. "A lot of our gay and lesbian students choose to meet off campus, but unless you're already involved in that group, you can't get involved," says Gorski. Thus many freshmen who are homosexuals are limited in their socializing. Gorski and other administrators are "aiming to put on a dinner for
anyone who is supportive of freedom of lifestyle choices," she says. "Hopefully, it will be an environment where people will say 'Hey, these students have the right to choose.' " The dinner is to be the highlight of various activities on campus which will focus on gay and lesbian rights. The activities are to be "low risk," allowing homosexuals some degree of privacy in an environment supportive of free choice of sexuality. One sophomore male who is gay spent his freshman year at Longwood in "a state of fear. I had no idea who to turn to. I couldn't go to the RA, and I didn't know anyone here who would listen to me after I told them that I was gay." Although he still lives with one foot in the closet door, the student is now becoming more open about his sexuality and somewhat
distressed at the situation at Longwood. "We have a lot of needs and rights just like any other students," he says. "Why can't we have a Gay Student Union and separate housing so that we can live together openly? Why can't we meet and date one another without stealing around in shadows? We're pretty goddamned tired of lurking around like criminals. If students at Longwood are so backward that they cannot accept reality, then they should have stayed back home on the farm, chewing their tobacco and driving their Jeep CJs. We're fed up, we're gay, and we're staying." Gorski recognizes the need for a sense of belonging on the part of Longwood's homosexual community. She noted that "gay and lesbian students are looking for a sense of culture — including religion. Their choice becomes
'less risky' for them if the Longwood community is permissive of alternate life styles." The question of religion often enters in discussions of homosexuality. Many Jews and Christians claim to oppose gay and lesbian rights because of various passages in the Old Testament. Gorski notes, however, that these very same people rarely adhere strictly to other passages in the Bible such as that forbidding intercourse while a woman is infertile or that forbidding premarital sex. Adherence, it seems, is only for those who deviate "too far" from the norm. Gorski realizes that not all Longwood students will be wholly permissive. However, she adds, "I also know that there are some people on campus who are willing to say to gay and lesbian students 'you're O.K.'"
The Rotunda Interviews: Horace Scruggs r
On Tuesday, September 11, Geist's annual Oktoberfest tapping was held. As usher after usher was joyously brought up to the Jarman stage, as the 1984 Mittenmeister and Festmeisters were named, one group of (Mr,, students sat sullenly amid the melee. Among them was Senior Horace Scruggs, who was to be named to the position of Geistmaster at the conclusion of the ceremony. Scruggs, however, chose to refuse the position in a protest of Geist, saying "I'd like to thank everyone who feels that I'm worthy to receive this position, but I can't see myself running around in a clown outfit. . . I care too much about the rest of the world." In the first of the 1984-85 series of Rotunda interviews, Scruggs explains the protest and the motivations behind it. ROTUNDA: Obviously, the primary question on the minds of the ra-ras and a few other "traditionalists" on campus is "Why?" What was the reasoning behind the action? SCRUGGS: The comment was made simply in protest of all the energy that's put into such childish antics while little attention is given to the issues that really concern each and
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every student at Longwood rather than a select few. ROTUNDA: What are your feelings in general towards Geist? SCRUGGS: I feel that it's o.k. . . . if students want to spend their time holding on to high school. But at the same time there should be twice as much effort put into becoming responsible, thinking adults; this is an effort which I and several others see lacking here at I>ongwood. ROTUNDA: So the protest was, in part at least, an effort to overcome this failing? SCRUGGS: What I really would like is for people to sit down and talk ... that is what it
was done for: to say 'let's talk about it.* ROTUNDA: Are the members of Geist truly campus leaders? SCRUGGS: There are many other people on this campus who give to much more worthwhile things: within their departments as well as on the campus as a whole. These people are giving, yet it's the ra-ras that get picked for Geist, and, consequently, noticed and rewarded by the administration. ROTUNDA: So, is Geist detrimental to the campus community? SCRUGGS: Yes, very much so because it's prolonging a high school attitude which does nothing for any graduating senior or incoming freshman because it doesn't afford them the opportunity to see what is real in the world. ROTUNDA: Were last Tuesday's action effective? Did anyone care? SCRUGGS: What the action did was, number one, let Geist know that there are some who refuse to go along with these childish games, and, number two, it opened up an avenue of protest which seemed to be closed in the past.
ROTUNDA: You said that you turned down the position because you "care too much about the world." Would you elaborate on that? SCRUGGS: That was a statement which came from the group I was with, David Areford, Laura Cullinan and Theresa John, which simply means that we refuse to be content with our own satisfactions. We strive to see that all students' needs are met and that their opinions are voiced. ROTUNDA: Is Geist an exclusive, say elitist if you will, organization? SCRUGGS: I would say they're happy with the way their lives,
particularly with the prestige that they have. They're living in a closed world. I mean, showing a slide show of yourself certainly shows a certain amount of itgotism. They're short-sighted . . . they can't see the needs of Students because they're dealing With only a handful of students, and that handful happens to be the ra-ras. ROTUNDA: How would you define the typical ra-ra? SCRUGGS: One who is much caught up in the "spirit" of Longwood but who fails to see the actual needs of the students here. By needs I mean the ability to think about those outside of one's self and see the rights and wrongs of our society. There is also the willingness to take a stand on beliefs which are true. ROTUNDA: What would you propose that Geist do in order to be more sensitive to the needs of the average student? Number One, stop basing its requirements for entrance on deeds done in the interests of Geist itself or in the interests of the ra-ras. Secondly, spend more time building a thinking and socially-aware Longwood rather (Continued on Page 4)