Finding college
freedom

Picture a white male, 5 foot 11, brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a pair of Guess jeans, a red T-shirt, black nail polish, and three-inch-high white platform shoes. That was me last summer after graduating from high school in Silver Spring, Md. I strutted my stuff and didn't care who saw me. I "vogued" down the street and at parties with my friends. I finally felt free to be me. So it may be no surprise that I had already sought out colleges in large cities where I would probably feel more comfortable being out and outgoing. I needed to know I could wear my feather boa. I couldn't imagine having to wait four more years before I could be the person I really am. So I chose American University in Washington, D.C., and I love it. I work as a student staff member at AU's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Ally Resource Center, which is an official AU office with a full-time director. I didn't expect the other students here to accept me so fully. In retrospect, I got lucky. I am sure there are many gay-friendly colleges in all kinds of locations, but I didn't know about them. So when I was asked to help with the first-ever Youth Pride College Fair in D.C., I gladly accepted. On April 23 representatives of dozens of colleges from all over came to the mostly gay neighborhood of Dupont Circle. The event made a powerful statement to potential college freshmen: "Yes, our school can welcome you. We will permit you to express yourself openly without regard to your sexual orientation." I didn't have that when I was choosing a college. I'm no longer as outgoing as I was last summer, but I've had the chance to grow on my own terms, and not because I was afraid or intimidated. Every kid deserves that chance, and college is the best place to get it.