Out at The Crimson

While issues of gender and ethnic diversity hadcome into sharp focus in the seventies, sexualorientation remained in the shadows.

Arthur H. Lubow '73, managing editor in 1972,met his partner of 25 years, David N. Hollander'71, when Hollander was his comp tutor. Hollanderwas Crimson president in 1970.

In their time at The Crimson, however, neitherwas aware the other was gay.

But Lubow says his silence about his sexualorientation was not due to any institutionalhostility.

Other former editors expressed similarimpressions of the atmosphere in the buildingnearly 20 years later.

"Everyone at The Crimson knew I was gay, butnobody talked about it with me," says John A.Cloud '93, co-editorial chair in 1992, who met hisfirst boyfriend at The Crimson.

"Everyone knew because I was a terrible flirt,"he says. "I never felt [that] if I had come out Iwould have been discriminated against."

The early nineties were a time when discussionof sexual orientation grew on campus and at TheCrimson.

While Cloud was editorial chair, The Crimsonstaff opposed the return of the Reserve OfficersTraining Corps (ROTC) to Harvard because of theprohibition against gay men and lesbians in thearmed forces.

Controversy surfaced in 1991 following an issueof Peninsula, a conservative monthly, devoted to abiblically-based attack on homosexuality.

"The atmosphere on campus in terms of Peninsulahad a pretty chilling effect," says David S.Kurnick '94, an arts editor in 1993.

At a rally of gay students and supportersprotesting against the Peninsula issue, Rev. PeterJ. Gomes, Plummer professor of Christian moralsand minister in the Memorial Church, announced heis gay.

"I wrote the news article [on the rally] as asophomore camper, and I remember the Peninsulaissue that came out after it," Kurnick says. "Itripped The Crimson apart, and I was named in it.It made me nervous that my integrity could becompromised."

"All the editors were trying to be objective.There was some fear [that being gay] could be usedagainst you or that I myself wasn't beingobjective," he says.