Dwayne Steward, Gay
Senior, Journalism, English minor

INVOLVEMENTS AT OU:
SHADES—Community Service and PR Coordinator, Black Student Communications Caucus, Ohio University Perspectives magazine—Features Writer

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO BE OUT or TO BE AN ALLY?
It’s extremely important to be out so that society can see positive representations of the LGBT community. If we stay closeted then people will continue to perpetuate their own stereotypes. Only when society continually sees people who are out and are still productive and essential parts of society will negative perceptions begin to change.

WHY ARE YOU “PROUD”? WHAT ARE YOU MOST “PROUD” OF?
I am proud because I have the strength and will-power to bean out black man in America.I am most proud of SHADES, Ohio University’s multicultural LGBT student union. The group is very new and sometimes unsure of itself, but there is a fire in the eyes of the young founders that I know will one day burn down the walls of segregation and discrimination that afflict the multicultural gay community, blazing a new and better path for generations to come.

WHAT WAS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF COMING OUT?
Coming out to my mother was the hardest thing I have ever done. Even as I was telling her I wanted to retreat within myself because I could see the agonizing shame that formed on her face. I was her “golden child” then all of a sudden I was her burden, which nearly broke my spirit. 

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS WHO COME OUT?
Have more trust in those you love. Most reactions will not be what you think. I learned that the hard way. Many of the people I came out to were angrier with me for not telling them for so long than they were with my lifestyle.

THOUGHTS FOR NON-LGBT PEOPLE ABOUT LGBT PEOPLE AND CONCERNS:
When you look at us, don’t simply think “gay.” Think doctor,lawyer, engineer, artist, writer. Think mother, father, sister, brother,friend. We are so much more than the small box that many non-LGBT people put us in.