In an onging effort to highlight real-time, concrete items from around the country to show why it gets better come this item from boston.com. The below paragraphs are better than any introduction that I could say it all about why it gets better:
Barely six months after the expiration of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ policy prohibiting gay service members from serving openly, the nation’s oldest private military academy is holding its first gay pride week.
Norwich University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Allies Club held its first meeting in September within hours of the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,’’ the rule that prevented gay service members from serving openly in the military. Now, the organization is planning a week of events to be highlighted by Norwich’s first queer prom, where Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is going to be the keynote speaker. And many alumni are expected to return to campus, said club president and Norwich senior Joshua Fontanez, 22, of Browns Mills, N.J.
“They are truly saying, `We’re proud to come back home. This is something we wish that happened when we were here,’’’ he said.
[snip]
Fontanez, who is one of the highest-ranking cadets and plans to be commissioned as an infantry officer in May, said his friends at Norwich didn’t know he was gay until after the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell.’’
He said he’d always wanted to be a soldier, but felt he would have to hide his sexuality to pursue his vocation to serve his country. “It’s something I feel I was truly called toward and truly loved, so it’s great that I don’t have necessarily to make that sacrifice,’’ Fontanez said.
