Goodman speaks on being out at OC

To formally kick off National Coming Out Week, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Union, the Multicultural Resource Center and the Alumni Office invited Roger Goodman to speak on his experiences as one of the first people in the history of Oberlin College to publicly announce his homosexuality.

A 1968 graduate of the Conservatory, Goodman first came out in 1964, at a time when homosexuality was still considered a psychological abnormality. He spoke Monday on being an out gay man, an activist and a person living with AIDS.

Goodman focused on the importance of everyone, despite their sexual orientation, learnimg their own history. He stressed awareness of LGBT issues, and also the impact that HIV and AIDS have had on society. A lifelong gay activist, Goodman spoke of evoking change not through anger and destruction, but though communication. "The only way change can happen anywhere is through conversation," said Goodman.

Goodman reminisced about his years at Oberlin, expressing a fondness for what he called the best years of his life. He described his College education as a freeing experience, during which he learned to let go of his self-hatred and insecurities.

In spite of this, he remembers that when he first came out in 1964, a strong homophobic sentiment existed throughout Oberlin. Goodman said that despite the tendency of Oberlin students and faculty to see themselves as liberals, it was liberalism directed towards the heterosexual community.

There were no formal LGBT rites on campus, and support for Goodman was weak. Even among the gay community he was seen as a threat to those who did not want to be guilty by association. He recalled one gay friend saying to him, "If you come out we'll all have to come out, and think of what this place will be like in 30 years."

Although many of Goodman's classmates refused to join him and it would be years before anyone else came out at Oberlin, he became an escape for some. "I was a safety zone. I was a sanctuary," he said.

He spoke of numerous times when people would come to him to be free, emotionally and sexually. He used this as an opportunity to try to improve the environment for gay individuals. He continued to try and change Oberlin by bringing the issue of sexuality into the classroom, questioning the heterocentric curriculum.

He said, "The consciousness was not only raised socially, but academically too."

Goodman also shared his experience about living with AIDS. He has come out both personally and professionally with his affliction. He commented on the decline in interest to speak about AIDS and the difficulty in getting people to come hear him speak on the subject.

In an effort to show the severity of the disease he described his own sickness and his close encounters with death. He suffered from septic shock, awoke from a ten-day coma and survived an adverse reaction to chemotherapy. "AIDS makes the world gray. AIDS takes away color," he said somberly.

Goodman spoke to an audience of about 50 people, all of whom seemed in rapture. There were often heads nodding as he spoke of his early feelings dealing with his sexuality. Some listeners were even moved to tears.

And while he initially addressed all of his listeners, he repeatedly spoke to those who were a part of the LGBT community, evoking pride and repeating the popular gay motto in the 1960s: "An army of lovers cannot lose." He urged students to let go of fear and self-doubt and to find their own spirituality. He further commended the current College administration for its attention to LGBT issues and encouraged people to gain a greater understanding of Oberlin's history and their own.