Gay alum urges tolerance of homosexuality

Kicking off a week-long celebration of National Coming Out Day, University alumnus and Vermont State Auditor Ed Flanagan -- the only openly gay elected state official in the United States -- encouraged students to be responsive and reactive to prejudices regarding homosexuality. Addressing an audience of more than 30 students and faculty last night, Flanagan explained that when he was a student at the University in the early '70s, the campus was "very unenlightened and very homophobic." "In terms of my personal life, while I really did enjoy Penn, I was unhappy and was forced to live a double life," he said. "I couldn't be candid and honest." At the University, Flanagan was an All-Conference and All-East football defensive end and was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The 1973 graduate "came out" with regard to his homosexuality only this past August. Flanagan said he has observed a significant increase in tolerance since his days as a student. "My impression is there's been a marked improvement," he said. "It's very impressive that this celebration would happen in a university setting where there still exists a heavy burden of bigotry which must be combated." Flanagan's speech also focused on the political aspects of integrating social and private lives. According to Flanagan, homosexual individuals are part of not only the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, but also personal, cultural and political realms. Flanagan argued that the mission of the gay rights movement is often misunderstood. "Many people think we're trying to snatch a certain set of rights, but we're just trying to grab back what is inherently ours and all Americans'," Flanagan said. Most students attending the talk said they found Flanagan's theme inspiring and applicable. "His message of being proactive instead of reactive is very appropriate for the U. of Penn community and society at large," said College freshman Ron Jenkins. College junior and exchange student Yasushi Komatsu attended Flanagan's talk to familiarize himself with the lifestyles of gay men. "I think I myself am biased toward homosexuality," he said. "Since I'm majoring in sociology, I think this is a good opportunity to both listen to somebody's experience as a gay person and consider what I am thinking about this issue." And Wharton junior Steven Chiong said he considers Flanagan a personal role model. "He impressed me as a role model for those gay individuals who want to get involved in politics, Chiong said. "I want to get involved not just because there are few Asians in government, but also because there are few gay individuals." This year marks the most extensive celebration of National Coming Out Day, which is officially tomorrow. "National Coming Out Day has been observed [here], but this is a much larger scale celebration," said Robert Schoenberg, coordinator for the Program for the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community at Penn. According to College senior Anthony Putz, one of three chairs of the LGBA, the week long celebration will target new students on campus. "There's a whole new crew of people here, looking to us for what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior," he said. "The strongest message we can send is that we won't tolerate this discrimination." Other events this week include a talk by lesbian novelist Patricia Nell Warren tonight, a speech tomorrow by Chastity Bono, daughter of Sonny Bono and Cher, and a demonstration on College Green tomorrow.