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OSU’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual community has a place of comfort on campus in the Sexual Orientation Diversity Association.
Founded in 1984, the group has provided a place for GLBT students to share experiences and frustrations with people just like them, SODA President Dennis Rudasill said.
“(SODA is) a support group and a social outlet that holds administration to some sense of accountability,” he said.
From its beginning, SODA had a hard time being recognized by the Student Government Association, Rudasill said. But after a lawsuit and winning the support of the American Civil Liberties Union, the organization was founded.
Although the members of SODA agree that there is a general sense of safety on OSU’s campus, there are certain parts of the Stillwater community where they say they still face hostility.
One such place is The Strip, where Rudasill said he has had some bad experiences.
“If you are out walking on the street on a Thursday or Friday night, you can definitely expect to experience hostility,” Rudasill said.
SODA Social Chair Amanda Renk said living in a state and town that are mostly conservative can present some challenges.
“As a whole, I wouldn’t say that Stillwater is the most welcoming,” she said.
Renk said she has seen a number of GLBT friends experience hate in the Stillwater community.
Rudasill experienced similar hostility when he was with a group of friends in the McDonald’s drive-thru and the car of people behind them yelled a number of slurs. His friends had just performed in Student Union Activities Board’s Dragonfly, an annual drag show and were still dressed in their costumes.
Another instance Rudasill recalls happened on OSU’s campus:
“I live right across the street from campus and I walked across the street to the ATM one day and someone rolled down the window of their truck and yelled, ‘Faggot,’ ” he said.
Although GLBT students feel that they still experience some threatening experiences, SODA Treasurer Matt Gardner said OSU has done a good job of educating its students.
“On the state level there is more education and open-mindedness toward diversity,” he said. “A lot of the OSU faculty and officials have done a really good job in creating a safe environment for students.”
In the future, Renk said he would like to see SODA reach out to more people at OSU and see more tolerance and understanding on the statewide.
Lacee Little, a member of OSU’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries, said people who treat homosexuals rudely are not following the Bible and that SODA and its members have every right to be on campus.
“There is a misconception that we hate homosexuals,” she said. “We believe that homosexuality is a sin, but it’s no worse than any other sin.”
Renk said growing up in Oklahoma as a part of the GLBT community is all she’s ever known.
“As a gay person in Stillwater, you have to survive on bread crumbs,” she said. “You make do with what you have.”
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