Equality Press

By Tim Dougherty

I recently spoke at the GLSEN rally for National Coming Out Day this past October. Doing so gave me the opportunity to think about what “coming out” really meant–and still means–to me. It’s amazing how far I have come since I first started to open that closet door in 1993, when I was 32 years old. I am nearly unrecognizable to myself in so many ways, yet I am also more of the best of who I was and always have been.

Let me introduce myself: My name is Tim Dougherty and I teach English at Concord High School in Concord, New Hampshire. And I just happen to be gay. Just as I happen to be one of six children, just happen to be colorblind, just happen to love Ovaltine, and just happen to be a huge Speed Racer fan. When I think about my coming out, I think about who I am now, who or what coming out has allowed me to become. (more…)

By Krystle Crossman

School, an educational place, is supposed to be a safe haven from the dangers of the world. For most, yes, but for some, it is a dark place, filled with hatred, fear, and anger. I myself am straight, but have had the great fortune to meet some wonderful people who are gay. My best friend came out senior year, and he confessed to me that he was afraid that all of his friends would leave him because he is gay. That was not the case; he was still the same person. We still loved him as much as we always had. One day, during a school pep rally, as I was sitting across the gym from him, I was forced to watch several students harass him. They were teasing him, calling him the most horrifying names. When he told me what had taken place, I was appalled. In all my life, I never could imagine how cruel kids could be. When I was in middle school, I was constantly picked on because I was quiet and I liked to read. I could only partially understand what my friend was feeling. (more…)

By Bob Coffey, Jr.

It’s probably the absurdly huge bags of buttery popcorn stacked like cordwood in the conference room that provides the first indication that this isn’t just another University administrator’s office. Moving into the office’s “living room” reveals a cheerful throng of students, sprawled out on two overused couches, munching on the popcorn and intently watching a favorite movie. Floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a wooded ravine light the room. Another student sits at the receptionist’s desk intently studying. She looks up from her textbook and her notes only to greet visitors or answer the telephone. “Good afternoon, Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.” She uses the office’s full name for the benefit of newcomers, but in the vernacular of the campus, it’s simply “OMSA.” (more…)