Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Victor Zonana '75 said in a speech last night that the College has undergone a "profound transformation" it its treatment of gays, lesbians and bisexuals.
"Dartmouth has really emerged from the closet," said Zonana, who is homosexual, to an audience of about 30 people in the Collis Common Ground. Zonana's speech was the keynote address for Dartmouth's celebration of National Coming Out Week.
In his speech titled "Out of the Green Closet, Into the Lavender Light: A Dartmouth Experience," Zonana said the College is now moving toward an environment of "respect."
"The fact is that Dartmouth, while no paradise for gays and lesbians, is accepting and tolerant of us," he said, "and I expect it to get better."
Despite misgivings about the College's acceptance of homosexuals, Zonana said he remains optimistic. "I guess I believe in the power of redemption," he said.
Zonana said he looks forward to the future of the College. College President James Freedman "has inspired me in many writings and speeches," he said. "Especially his early Convocation addresses. I like him."
Zonana discussed his personal experiences as a homosexual.
"Coming out never ends," Zonana said. "You have to make the decision every day and have faith that the path of honesty and truth is the right path."
Zonana said Dartmouth's treatment of homosexuals was not a factor in his decision to attend the College.
"Had Dartmouth been known for its openness and friendliness to gays, I would have avoided it," he said.
He said he thought "the aggressive heterosexuality" of the "last male bastion in the Ivy League" might rub off on him. He said he thought "the absence of women would make my heart grow fonder" for them, but that was not the case.
Zonana said he and others kept their homosexuality a secret while students at Dartmouth, but said "it's long past due that this conspiracy of silence ended."
Alumni Magazine article
Along those same lines, Zonana discussed a 1987 article he wrote for the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine that was never published.
Jay Heinrichs, who edits the Alumni Magazine, contacted Zonana and offered him a chance to write a story about anything he wanted, Zonana said.
"I thought, 'This is interesting, I'll take him up on it,' " Zonana said. He called Heinrichs back and said he would do it. Heinrichs suggested a few possible ideas before Zonana replied.
"I have a story idea too," Zonana said he told Heinrichs. "I want to write about gay students at Dartmouth. I'm gay."
He said he remembers a long pause before Heinrichs responded.
" 'That's a great idea,' he said. 'You should do that,' " Zonana recalled.
The article examined the difficult experiences of gay students at the College, but it never was printed. Zonana blamed the article's burial on "lack of nerve" from all parties involved.
"Many in the administration breathed huge sighs of relief when it didn't appear," Zonana said.
After the speech, Heinrichs and Zonana had a chance to discuss the issue once more.
Heinrichs confessed to Zonana that he felt he had unfairly held the piece to "too high a standard." Heinrichs also said his decision not to publish the piece was "the biggest journalistic mistake of my life."
Pennington Hale
Another part of Zonana's speech focused on an alumnus and benefactor of the College.
"I have a challenge to Dartmouth and to the Rainbow Alliance to acknowledge and honor the homosexual identity of Pennington Hale '24," he said.
Hale funded the Ravine Lodge, as well as a scholarship in memory of his lover, according to Zonana. He said public acknowledgment of Hale's gifts is relegated to a plaque located "in a corner of a sub-basement of the Hopkins Center" for the Performing Arts.
"Hale himself was open about his homosexuality," Zonana said of the plaque, which is vague regarding Hale's life. "One wonders why this isn't a part of his story."
Zonana, who was the editor in chief of The Dartmouth, worked for 10 years at the Wall Street Journal after graduation, reporting from Philadelphia and San Francisco. He then wrote for the Los Angeles Times.
In 1987, he asked his editors at the Los Angeles Times for permission to start and cover a new AIDS beat.
This work eventually led him to found the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists' Association, which later brought him to the attention of then President-elect Bill Clinton.
Zonana said he and many others felt "betrayed" by the administration's handling of such issues as gays in the military. At the same time, he championed the administration's "unprecedented funding for AIDS research, treatment and care."
"The President has made it clear what side he is on," Zonana said of the upcoming presidential elections.
