It was a gamble, I know. But what is a gay freshman to do when his future roommates already hate him?
My name is Chris Uihlein and I'll be living in a triple on the third floor of Crawford next year. I was able to complete my housing for next year on May 8, where I was the last spot in the room. I figured that after living for a year in a single in O'Bleness that I would branch out, meet new people and make some friends. Because of the system I was unable to see who would be my roommates until I had already completed the housing contract.
Happily, I added the two as friends on Facebook and let them know who I am. The next day I received a message from one of them requesting that I find a different room because they had a friend they were hoping to get into the room. Not wanting to upset them, I told them that I didn't mean to impose, that I couldn't change rooms after I had already selected and that we ought to make the best of it.
The next day, as a sign of friendship, I offered to take them both to dinner so we might get to know one another before living together for a year. One of them e-mailed me back and insisted that I leave the room, to which I replied that I couldn't and that if they wanted their friend in their room so badly they could have added him while they were registering.
That was when I found out their real motivation. Listen
we do not have a friend moving in. We were just trying to be nice; we both just feel really uncomfortable living with a homosexual. Now what am I to do? I can't leave because I'm not allowed, and I can't stay because I fear for my own safety.
I've been talking back and forth with them and they feel that I am obligated to leave because of their discomfort. I wonder if they realize mine ' especially when I read their statuses on Facebook declaring X is a homophobe at 8:58 p.m., and X hates faggots at 9:21 p.m.
I've been pondering practically all day about what makes them so afraid. Do they think that I'll try to ply them with wine and seduce them? Absurd. Do they think that I'll be some degenerate that they'll have to deal with constantly? Not here. Do they think they'll catch the gay? As if. Or am I giving them too much credit? Perhaps they've never been exposed to reality, where the LGBT community find most people accepting, logical, thoughtful allies. Probably.
As I said, it was a gamble, but I didn't think that a crapshoot such as this would leave me without a home for a year.
Christopher Uihlein is a freshman journalism major.
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