Students use silence as protest

Former IU student Jesse Moyers decided to disclose his sexuality in the summer of 2000 when he didn't want to hide his true self anymore. \nBut he felt the sting of discrimination when several of his friendships came to an end.\nMoyers recounted his experiences to about 50 selective faculty, staff, students and IU administrators during Tuesday's National Day of Silence luncheon in the Georgian Room at the Indiana Memorial Union.\nMoyers, who attended IU from 1998 to 2001, was the head student manager of the acclaimed men's soccer team during his first two years. \nHe worked alongside the championship winning team as he formed close relationships with several of the players and Jerry Yeagley, who has coached the program for 30 years.\nAfter Moyers made the decision to tell the players he was gay, many of the friendships he had with the players came to an abrupt and upsetting halt.\nOne player e-mailed Moyers: "Jesse, please don't come back next season, we don't want faggots on our team or in our locker room," Moyers said.\nMoyers was saddened by the responses.\n"I was shocked," Moyers said. "So I went to seek the coach's advice."\nAfter talking to Yeagley about what happened, Moyers said he was told that his sexuality wouldn't impact how the staff or team felt about him, and that he would be just fine.\n"It wasn't fine, and I was disappointed that he would only help me through his 'silent support'," Moyers said. \nDespite his disappointment, Moyers said he values Yeagley's friendship and sees him as a fatherly-figure and mentor.\nBut Moyers did not return to the team in the fall.\n"While I am sure he had no issue with me being gay, I was discouraged that his support did not extend further than his office door," he said.\nMoyers addressed the issues of homophobia in college athletics and how support needs to be more explicit from coaches and players when it comes to gay and lesbian athletes.\nAs Moyers spoke, a rainbow flag was draped in the back of the room, in addition to a collection of pins, stickers and cards with pledges of silence in the center of each guest table.\nIU Dean of Students Richard McKaig attended Tuesday's luncheon to show support for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered community. Attached to his suit was a colorful button that read "straight but not narrow."\n"Part of my job is to get out there and work with student groups on campus, especially the GLBT and OUT programs," McKaig said. "I am an advocate for the student body, and I want to make sure (the GLBT community) is not silenced."\nThis year's theme for NDOS is "Finding Your Voice," and GLBT Coordinator Doug Bauder said Moyers has indeed found his.\n"Jesse's story needs to be told and understood," Bauder said. "We've seen such progress over the years of greater acceptance of GLBT students on this campus in almost every other area. I hope he's opening the last closet door here at IU -- the athletics department."\nHe said this is what NDOS is about -- opening the doors to more dialogue.\nIn its seventh year at IU, NDOS represents a campus-wide support for the GLBT community by understanding the silence many gays face each day.\nMoyers speech was an introduction to an event later in the day; former NFL player Esera Tuaolo spoke at the Willkie Auditorium about his experiences with coming out.\nNDOS events continue on Wednesday, the marked day of silence, when people around campus will refrain from speaking, to show how members of the GLBT community -- and those in athletics -- are silenced and oppressed.\n"If we remain silent, we are affirming to those in the athletic world that their silence is acceptable -- and it surely is not," Moyers said. "When coaches and players can have open dialogue, and players are not isolated for his or her sexual preference, then we can say that the 'silence' has truly been shattered"