From being arrested for civil disobedience last Friday to actively working for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Lieutenant Dan Choi is not an easy man to get a hold of.
Yet Wednesday night, Choi addressed an audience of students and faculty at the HUB Auditorium as Penn State's 2010 Pride Week keynote speaker.
"We've been holding our breaths the whole time, thinking, 'Can we really get him here?' " said Alex Yates, co-president of the LGBTA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, ally) Student Alliance.
Choi, currently serving as an infantry officer in the National Guard, announced that he was gay on "The Rachel Maddow Show" in March of 2009 and has been giving speeches about the country's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy ever since.
He last came to PSU in October 2009 to participate in a debate entitled "Shhh! Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which questioned whether servicemembers with indispensable skills should be discharged from the military to avoid the potential discomfort of their peers.
This time, Choi came to speak about the theme of this year's Pride Week, "Here," reflecting on the importance and promise of the gay rights movement today and what students can do to move it forward.
"It's important to note how we got here as a community and where we go from here," Choi said, explaining that with their social networking and their energy, students have great potential to end an era of "institutionalized shame" manifested in the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.
Ashley Bennett (junior-public relations) said she felt Penn State is already serving the LGBTA community well.
"Pride Week isn't something that goes under the radar here," Bennett said. "Members of the gay community are varsity athletes and fellow students in our classes and they share their opinions freely."
Other students said though Penn State may be gay-friendly, government policies such as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" limit LGBTA members.
Yates said he applied to Penn State intending to join the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) on campus, and was admitted with a full scholarship.
But because of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, Yates decided to turn down his admission.
