Organizer says school has been helpful, supportive in forming group for gay graduates
DAVID TAFFET | Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
There are some schools that are — or have been — affiliated with religious institutions that not only wouldn’t welcome an LGBT alumni group, they would block such a group outright.
But when Doug Thompson, a graduate of Fort Worth’s Texas Christian University, associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), approached his alma mater’s alumni association about forming an LGBT affiliate, he said, the response was, “Absolutely. No problem.”
TCU’s new LGBT alumni group will hold its first large meeting on Saturday, Oct. 22, after the TCU homecoming game. Thompson acknowledged that sports isn’t the main concern of many LGBT alumni, but homecoming is still a time when many alumni return to visit the campus.
Thompson said when he asked the alumni association whether the LGBT group would need approval by the school’s administration, he was told the administration would back it. The group was approved in April.
Unlike Baylor University, which sued to keep its LGBT alumni from using the school name to organize a group, Thompson said there has been no objection from the TCU campus.
“We just want to get people involved however they want to be involved,” Kristi Hoban, associate vice chancellor alumni of relations, said. “We just reach out, whether it’s a class or the business school or a special interest group.”
She said that black alumni were not participating until the Black Alumni Alliance formed about 11 years ago. Now, she said, they’re active leaders in class reunions, homecoming and department alumni events, adding that she hopes to see the same thing happen with the LGBT network.
Finding LGBT alumni hasn’t been easy, Thompson said, as students aren’t asked about their sexual orientation before they graduate.
But Thompson said about 120 alumni have already responded, mostly to calls on social media sites. And now that the school has a Gay Straight Alliance, he said, finding future alumni will be easier.
“Our goal will be to support gay and lesbian students and start a scholarship,” Thompson said. “And we’ll form activities around things gay alumni have an interest in.”
He mentioned support for the Trinity Shakespeare Festival on campus as a direction for the group.
Thompson said that having an LGBT alumni group will help the school provide a better environment for its LGBT students.
Two years ago, TCU proposed setting aside dorm space for LGBT students. A week after the announcement, when only eight students had signed up for the housing, the school scrapped those plans.
“That got totally blown out of proportion,” Hoban said.
She said the intention was never segregated housing but really just an LGBT campus group.
Thompson said the school would have avoided the bad publicity if it had the alumni group to guide them.
The LGBT alumni group will get together after the homecoming game against New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 22. They will meet at Tommy’s Hamburgers’ Camp Bowie Boulevard location from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
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OUT, PROUD ATHLETE
Victor Pryor
Perhaps one of the best known Texas Christian University grads that will be attending the new LGBT alumni group’s meeting this weekend is Vincent Pryor, a TCU Horned Frogs football star from 1994.
That year, before the final game of the season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Pryor came out to his teammates. Rather than shunning him, Pryor’s coach told him he was proud of his honesty
“My teammates and my coaches overwhelmingly supported and accepted me,” Pryor writes on his website, VincentPryor.com. “All of the fears and concerns I had about being kicked off the team, or losing my scholarship, or embarrassing my school — none of that happened. And the best part of it was that I became a better athlete after I came out.”
That day, Pryor had the biggest game of his college career, tallying a record 4.5 sacks — a record that still stands today. His performance helped TCU win the conference title and a berth in a post-season bowl game.
Today, Pryor works in sales and lives in Chicago with his partner of 12 years, who was a classmate at TCU. To watch his just-
released an “It Gets Better” video, below.
If you are gay, look for help. There is plenty of help for those who struggles with homosexuality. Remember, the road wont be easy but reward will be good. Homosexuality takes you to sin and you will never find peace and you will never know what is like to love someone with all your heart. Many people will say that to be gay is normal thing but it is NOT. That is a big lie. Believe me brothers, I been there and the only thing a got was shame and depression. In others words, I was death and unhappy and the worse of all I broke God’s law. Leave this sin away and you will find the real love.
Blessing from your friend..
Hey Vic, finding God may have “healed” your “sin” but it obviously did nothing to improve your grammar or spelling. But thanks for playing! See all my fellow homo horned frogs at the TCU LGBT alumni meeting tomorrow! – Todd Camp
Liberator Morris Kight was a TCU Alum. Texas inspired Equality History is interesting. Great article. Kudos to Doug, Vincent and TCU.