Coming Out

At Dartmouth, the subject of homosexuality is no longer taboo, the silence no longer screaming. There is now an organization called the Gay Students Support Group, some homosexuals have "come out," people are openly talking about it on this most macho of and the dean of the Tucker Foundation, an Episcopal priest, has written some 5,000 words on the subject in the equivalent of a pastoral letter. In fact, with one or two exceptions, the subject has created little furor.

The Gay Students Support Group emerged last fall, following the appearance of organizations with the same or similar names on many other campuses in recent years. Stuart Lewan '79, who identified himself as coordinator of the group, said its purpose was to provide information and counseling rather than serve as a kind of gay student union, which "implies that people identify and separate themselves away from the school." The group had a membership desk at winter-term registration and later co-sponsored a speaking appearance by former professional football player David Kopay, an avowed homosexual. Depending on the point of view, these developments seemed to be accepted with either relief or resignation.

In early winter, however, Lewan was forcibly ejected from a fraternity party, which occasioned several protesting letters from both sides in The Dartmouth and ultimately a letter of apology from a fraternity officer. Then the controversy, such as it was, died away.

As for the College's position, an assistant dean said in the fall that "this isn't a College matter. Sexual preference is a personal matter and the College shouldn't be in the business of condemning or. condoning a person's sexual preference." At the same time, a member of the student counseling service cautioned the students involved to be "very aware of the responsibilities they're taking on." (In a recent New York Times article on campus homosexuality, the authors, Fred and Grace Hechinger, reinforced this point by noting that students who "come out" in the relatively secure atmosphere of college often suffer deep psychological wounds in the less hospitable outside world.)

According to John Hanson '59, dean of students, Stuart Lewan recently withdrew from Dartmouth "for reasons not connected with the Gay Students Support Group." The group presently appears to have a handful of members, but one of Lewan's long-range aims was to create a more hospitable, non-threatening climate for homosexuals who want to be a "contributing part of the whole of society." The members of the Gay Student Support Group reportedly have been considering an application for COSO affiliation but have not yet done so.