Gays and greeks learn about each other

Misinformation was taught to her in school. It was modeled to her and in the air she breathed, according to educator and speaker Kathy Obear. Obear, who founded The Human Advantage -- a firm that consults universities on social issues, told 35 students yesterday that gay issues were addressed negatively during her childhood -- if they were addressed at all. "I hid a lot of who I was," Obear said last night in McClelland Hall. "How well do we really know each other if, in fact, [some people] can't be who they are? " Obear's speech, "Opening Doors to Understanding and Acceptance," was hosted by the Greek Student Activities Committee, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Alliance and PEARL -- Penn's Eagerly Awaited Radical Ladies. The seminar was designed to educate the gay and greek communities about each other, according to GSAC Tri-Chairperson and Wharton senior Haesin Kim. "Homophobia is like racial prejudice," Obear said. "If you were to tell a homosexual joke, it's the same as a racial joke." Obear also said she was scared about society's general disrespect for the civil rights of gays. "It can happen anywhere to anyone, and it can happen to others," Obear said. "If you can be prejudiced to one group you can be prejudiced to another. It's all the same stuff." Obear asked the students to stand in a circle and discuss their earliest memories of gay men and prior experiences with lesbians and bisexuals. Obear told the group that society can be sparked to change by revising school coursework. "I want curriculum to represent real life. We've been centered on a white ethnocentric history and literature," Obear said. "All faculty should have access to stories, plays, and films about gay issues." Obear added that changes in society can best be accomplished through dialogue similar to hers. "Whether or not we agree with me, if we can just get the dialogue going. The power of you -- at dinner, in the classroom, is to ask the tough questions -- that's being an ally," Obear addded. Robert Schoenberg, assistant director of student life programs, said he believes it is important for the fraternity system and the gay community to work together to dispel myths. "There are a couple of myths about gays and fraternities and sororites," Schoenberg said. "First, that there are no gay and lesbian people in fraternities and sororities. Second, sometimes fraternities and sororities get an unfair rap as being hyper-hyper homophobic."

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