The Penn State Alumni AssociationWhat’s been happening: I came out as gay during my senior year at Penn State. It was a radical move at the time, but certainly doesn't seem so radical today. I then spent about 14 years working full-time, professionally for the lesbian and gay movement. I organized the gay community in Oregon for years before becoming executive director of the Washington, DC-based Gay Rights National Lobby. I was also one of the co-founders of the Human Rights Campaign, the major national organization for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual issues. I met my partner, Bruce Muller, at Penn State while taking over Old Main in an anti-war demonstration. We stayed together for 21 years before he died during the worst days of the AIDS epidemic. Oregon has been home for me since the mid 1970s, but I remember my days at Penn State well. |