Vassar athletics discusses LGBTQ

Elizabeth Anderson Guest Writer

“Vassar is an open and accepting place, and I think overall it is. That doesn’t mean issues of heterosexism and homophobia don’t exist,” said men’s rowing team member Nick Perry ’10.

Recently, Perry created an LGBTQ athletes and allies group to work with the Athletic Department to reduce and prevent homophobia and heterosexism in athletics. The group will provide a community to students who belong to both the athletic and the LGTBQ community who may feel overlooked by belonging to both.

They will work to combat the negative, as well as provide a positive image for LGBTQ athletes everywhere, especially at Vassar.

“There are a lot of positive qualities to being a queer athlete that I would like to address and get out there,” added Perry.

During the 2007-2008 school year, the Vassar Athletics Department has had ongoing discussions about homophobia and heterosexism in athletics. The goal of the Department is to improve the incorporation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Queer (LGBTQ) athletes in the Vassar community. There have been general interest meetings for the administration and staff, as well as public speakers who lecture on issues such as the general assumption that everyone on a team is straight.

The Department has organized severael events to confront issues of homophobia in athletics this year. John Amaechi, the first openly homosexual professional basketball player, visited Vassar on Oct. 8, 2007 to speak about his experience playing professional basketball.

Then, on April 1, Director of Sports Media for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Ted Rybka spoke about the ignorant misuse of language and the media’s role in shaping perceptions of LGBTQ people.

This discussion was to help educate faculty, staff and students about the prevalence of homophobia and heterosexism in athletics.

Vassar’s Athletics Department has made changes in their programs and sportsmanship guidelines, as well. Most leagues do not recognize these issues, including the Liberty League.

But Roman Czula, Director of Life Fitness at Vassar, will travel to Boston for a National Collegiate Athletic Association meeting on gender and diversity to discuss the actions that the Vassar community has taken.

Perry noted that Czula and “the athletic administration have opened communication up about diversity in our athletics and understand that some attitudes and practices which have gone unchallenged for a very long time are no longer acceptable.”

Other schools such as Purdue and Brown Universities are taking similar steps. Perry pointed out that “This is really a hot issue in college athletics right now with more and more athletes who are comfortable with their sexuality wanting to be open and wanting others to be understanding of that as well.”

Perry is currently making plans for the group to meet so that discussion on LGBTQ athletes and allies can begin.