"I'm gay."
This is a sentence not often uttered around Grounds. However, the University does have a gay male population.
One of them might have been a group member from one of your CS classes, orone of the guys with whom you regularly play basketball.
From afar, the University of Virginia seems to be a southern school with very conservative values; however, below the surface, one can discover a starkly different experience.
Several openly gay students at the University said coming out and being openly gay can be a long process, and some gay males won't ever be completely out of the closet. While some gay males say they that they knew they were gay in high school, others explain that they've always known and some identified themselves as gay much later in their life.
Coming out can be caused by a catalytic event or inspired by another, as was the case for Adam Snodgrass, a fourth-year in the College. He said he was inspired by Ellen DeGeneres.
"She came out on television two weeks before I did to my friends, and she brought the issue to the forefront in my mind and gave me courage," Snodgrass said.
For some males, coming out to their parents is the hardest.
Joe Calascione, a third-year in the College, said, "I originally wanted to wait until I went to college, because I'd heard so many horror stories, but I'm glad I came out to my parents in high school. They took it a lot better than I had anticipated."
Another student, J.T. Segal, a second-year College student, said he felt that his relationship with his parents was significantly closer after he came out to them.
Several students said they feel that it is easier to come out to friends, especially in a casual manner, said first-year College student Joe Liem.
"I gave away my sexuality in casual conversation when we talked about things like relationships," Liem said. "I would not explicitly reveal my sexuality."
Graham Schnaars, a third-year Engineering student, doesn't like to look at the coming out process as a big ordeal.
"When someone discusses the time in which he or she came out, I instantly imagine a ticker tape parade with banners flying everywhere and people cheering along the sides waving furiously as the person leaps from out of the closet," Schnaars said. "Or
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