Sobering realities: "Student Life 101," "ex-gay therapy," and persistent homophobia on campuses

A senior at Iowa State University, Jacob Wilson, 24, is president of his fraternity and will co-chair the 2012 Midwest Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Ally College Conference.

Wilson comes from a religious, conservative family in Salem, Mo. When he was 19, encouraged by family, friends and his church, he entered an ex-gay reparative therapy program in Memphis, Tenn.

"I was really depressed and desperate for something," he explained. "I had just gotten out of my first significant same-sex relationship."

"It was very challenging," Wilson continued. "The objective is to wear you down and build you back up. I was told that gay people cannot have successful relationships or be successful in life."

The experience did more harm than good. "It caused a lot of stress - mental, emotional, family stress, relationship stress," he reported. Today, Wilson speaks about the harm reparative therapy programs cause at conferences across the nation.

Given that emotional background, it’s disappointing that he didn’t find Iowa State’s "safe" environment quite so welcoming. "I thought it was going to be a place where everything would be easy," Wilson said. "But it’s not that way. It’s not a magical place where you just all of a sudden don’t have to worry about being gay."

His freshman year was difficult. "Walking on campus, I’d hear students throwing out homophobic remarks such as ’Oh, look at that fag over there.’ or ’He’s so gay.’ I’d ask myself, ’If they are talking like that about someone else, how would they feel about me if they knew?’"

Wilson attributes the appointment two years ago of a fulltime coordinator of LGBT student services, the first at an Iowa state college, for improving the atmosphere. "He’s able to bring faculty, staff, administrators and students to the table to discuss issues affecting LGBT students and do something about them so we can be successful in college life," he explained.

Because of the economy, state colleges throughout the nation are facing budget cutbacks. Iowa State is no different. "People sometimes question why there’s a need for the coordinator," he continued. "I think the answer’s simple: this position saves lives."

via www.edgeboston.com