Posted on 09/08/2001 2:04:56 PM PDT by mdittmar
BOSTON (September 8, 2001 3:13 p.m. EDT) - The decision to reveal his homosexuality to his family didn't go well for one Bridgewater State student. His father threatened to cut him off financially and left the junior feeling "like a piece of trash."
"There's no way I could support myself," said the 22-year-old, who asked that his name not be used. "I was very, very scared."
A new scholarship offered by the school could make it easier for gay and lesbian students to break unwelcome news by helping gay students whose families refuse to support them financially.
The school says it's the only program of its kind.
The 22-year-old student's parents kept paying for school after his mother insisted, but not everyone gets that break, said communications professor Susan Holton, co-chair of the school's Safe Colleges Task Force, an advocacy group for gays.
Bob Haynor, Bridgewater's outreach education coordinator, started raising funds for the scholarship in April 2000 after meeting students who were cut off after they came out. About $8,200 has been donated so far. Haynor hopes the first awards will be given next year.
The college's Frank-Tremblay Safe Colleges Scholarship is named for lesbian folk singer Lucie Bley Tremblay, who's raised money for the scholarship, and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is gay and represents the Bridgewater area.
Frank has not raised money for the scholarship but said he was flattered to be associated with it. "The potential for rejection or the fact of rejection is a crushing blow," he said. "Add to that an inability to continue your education ... Obviously we wish this situation didn't happen but it's important to have this resource available."
Other schools have boosted financial aid for gay students cut off by parents, said Robert Schoenberg, president of the National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Higher Education. But he was uncertain how many, if any, aim funds specifically at students who are financially estranged from parents.
Brian Camenker, president of the Parent's Rights Coalition, a Newton-based group that opposes government interference in parental duties, said the scholarship is a "complete outrage" that undermines parental authority.
"You have a state institution affirming a self-destructive and medically dangerous behavior and essentially spitting in the face of parents who know it's a horrible thing for their children to be doing," he said.
Schoenberg said gays and parents often have their first conversations about sexual orientation in the early years of college, when students are particularly dependent on parents.
"Students choose to go outside the city where they live and do some exploring and perhaps come out," he said.
In addition to private donations, school officials also expect to receive some money when the state matches private funds raised for the Bridgewater State College Foundation, of which the scholarship is part.
The fact that public money could be included is galling to Camenker.
"It's like taking your tax dollars and rubbing it in your face," he said.
But Vincent McCarthy, chairman of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, said that if parents "divorce" themselves financially from their children, they lose their say in the children's education.
"The bottom line is 'Tough,'" he said.
Grant sizes haven't been determined. Haynor said tuition and fees at Bridgewater are about $2,800, so even a small grant can help.
"It's more than just money," he said. "I think it's somebody saying, 'We want you to be here.'"
On second thought, I might have to convince her, I mean, discuss her sexuality with her.
Man, what a relief, I thought I'd be coughing up another couple semesters' worth of tuition!
Apparently, he's never heard of a "job".
Brian, I hate to break it to you, but these kids are adults. It might be time to loosen the reins a bit. Just a thought.
Methinks he's had many "jobs."
How do we know that someone applying for this scholarship is really gay, or just claiming to be gay to get the money? Will they be required to prove that they are gay? If so, how?
I recommend that straights who 'rents are mad at them apply for the scholarship. After all, it is your business what you do in your bedroom. And if you "change your mind" about your sexuality following graduation, that is cool, too. I mean isn't that what the gay movement is all about? Pursuing your own sexuality, whatever it might be?
maybe there’s a stipend and internship in the works...
Just why can't an apparently healthy intelligent 22-year-old MAN support himself? And since when is a 22-year-old adult entitled to feed off his parents anyway?I was very, very scared."
What the hell is there for him to be scared of--working for a living? Oh the horror. God knows what he might do if he was losing a draft deferment.
Anyone who does not grasp the essential narcissistic disorder underlying homosexuality might reflect on this dude and his wailing sense of entitlement.
Why not? Many of my students (college students) support themselves. It might take 5 or 6 years to get through college if you have to work lots of hours, but it IS doable. I know lots of young people who are doing it.
All they've got to do is to get somebody to feel their pain and donate the money. Apparently, these people have already done that.
It is wrong to force taxpayers to fund sexual perversion.
However, I'm reluctant to get too angry with private individuals giving their money to endow a scholarship fund. When was the last time you endowed a scholarship fund?
Today. Thanks for asking.
Part of every Sunday contribution goes to funding Christian students at all levels of education.
And we don't conspire for matching government funds.
It's quite simple, actually. Either you support the government using our tax dollars to fund this or you don't. You're answer, please?
However, I think private donations for scholarship funds are great, whether they're for gay students, black students, troubled students, or students who pick their noses..
There's an answer. Happy now?
Yes! And I'm very glad that you oppose the spending of any taxpayer monies to support this highly discriminatory scholarship.
Just like me! ;-)
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