Letter to the Editor:
LGBT status progresses with time

As an alumnus of Rider, I want to commend you on your recent article in The Rider News regarding its ranking in terms of its GPA.

I was an accounting major who graduated in 1985. As funny as it may sound to you, I never actually believed there were any other gay students at the time I attended. One fellow student whom I found out in recent years is gay, was often the subject of rumors back in the day. A former roommate of his told me that there was no way “Tom” could have been a “f----- faggot” because he wouldn’t have roomed with him if that were the case. Other people said “Tom” was “too cool” so there was no way he could be gay.

At the time I attended, AIDS was heavily devastating communities nearby in NYC and Philadelphia, yet those places seemed a million miles away. Sex education and resources were virtually non-existent at Rider. To my knowledge there was no place on campus to purchase condoms. If someone who was well-regarded was also the subject of rumors, you might have heard that this person was “bisexual” as if that made it acceptable. There were faculty who were also the subject of rumors as well. There tended to be less denial about the plausibility of gay professors.

Admittedly, I never told anyone about myself. No one knew. I wasn’t picked on and I dated girls. It never occurred to me to be “out” unless I wanted my life in shambles. It seemed not so much unsafe as it seemed unrealistic. I lived in a community where nobody really thought anyone was actually gay. So I always wondered if there were any other gay people at Rider. I heard of gay clubs at larger schools like Penn or in big cities, but never at the pre-internet days of Rider.

When the news of Rock Hudson’s illness and ensuing death came toward the end of my time at Rider, I recall the guys in the residence hall being in shock over this revelation. One guy said “he’s too good-looking to be gay.” Kind of ironic to hear something from an allegedly straight man.

I am relieved we live in a time when students can make their own choice as to whether they choose to be open about their orientation. I am grateful to hear that the faculty are a supportive resource. The Internet has changed the world at the same time, providing information, resources, friends and relationships. So you can see the world and Rider have changed for the better.

I congratulate all you openly LGBT students and wish you well during your time at Rider.

——Joel Goldfarb
Class of 1986