Out in the Mountains

 

Karen Thompson on Coming Out in Higher Education

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Karen Thompson photo by Sage Russell

Sage Russell

For the second time in a row, Vermont
Women in Higher Education included a
workshop on lesbian issues at its semi-
annual conference, held in Burlington
on November 15. The workshop, en-
titled “Lesbians in Higher Education: Is
It Safe to Come Out. ", was led by Kar-
en Thompson, Associate Professor of
Physical Education at St. Cloud State
University in Minnesota. Thompson is
better known for her tireless efforts to
secure guardianship of and appropriate
medical care for her partner, Sharon
Kowalski, who was severely injured in
an automobile accident in 1983 (see ac-
companying story).

Thompson believes strongly that it is to
everyone’s advantage to come out, say-
ing that if lesbians and gay men were to
come out all at once, “they couldn’t fire
all of us.”

Thompson herself didn’t walk out of the
closet; she was pulled out by the public-
ity surrounding her legal battles, and as
she came out, she had to deal first with
her own internalized homophobia. She
says now that, “Even if all my fears of
coming out had materialized, I’d still be
telling groups to come out, because what
I have gained from coming out is much
greater than anything I could have lost. I
came out to fight for Sharon’s rights and
for our rights as a couple. In the process,
I have learned to like and respect who I

as

am.

Thompson believes that she protected
herself by coming out — that if she had
not, the rumors and innuendoes sur-
rounding the case could easily have cost
her her job. “It’s a myth that we’re safer
in the closet. It’s a glass closet. So many
people see into it anyway, and it’s so eas-
ily shattered. It’s a very vulnerable place
to be.” By coming out, she not only sur-
vived, but she has decisively changed her
work life for the better.

Thompson has made it in her university’s
best interest to support her, and St. Cloud
has gone from grudging tolerance to gen-
uine support of her activities. She speaks
all over the country at places like the
American Psychological Association’s
annual convention and Harvard law
School. Since coming out she has been
promoted, and the letter notifying her of
her promotion mentioned the educational
value of her speaking out. She works a
four day week, enabling her to travel
without missing classes, and the Uni-
versity has never denied her permission
to leave campus for a speaking engage-
ment.

Her job has expanded as well. Thomp-
son has become an adjunct professor of
human relations, and she includes as a
course objective the elimination of ho-
mophobic and heterosexist expression
and behavior in all her classes, including
racquetball and volleyball. She has be-
come a catalyst for change on her cam-
pus, helping to establish a lesbian/gay fa-
culty caucus at St. Cloud, which recently
expanded into a network linking G/L fa-
culty groups throughout the Minnesota
state system. Lesbians and gay men are a
protected class at St. Cloud, and they are
now pushing for domestic partners’ ben-
efits. She has presented workshops on
heterosexism and homophobia for fa-
culty groups, and her visibility has en-
abled her to serve as a mentor and
sounding board for lesbian and gay stu-
dents.

Ironically, the progress that she notes at
St. Cloud, a conservative university in a
conservative town, has been slowest in
her own department. Thompson attrib-
utes this to the fear caused by the neg-
ative stereotyping of women in physical
education. Some faculty members and
students in her department are afraid to
be seen with her. She is considered to be
a detriment to recruitment and coaches
bringing prospective athletes to campus
are not allowed to be seen with her.

After Thompson’s presentation, the ap-
proximately 25 workshop participants,
primarily but not exclusively lesbians,
discussed the issues she raised, focusing
on value of this type of workshop, the
importance of mentoring students, and
the advantages of coming out.

A networking/discussion group is fortn-
ing for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals
in higher education in Vermont. If you
are interested in participating or would
like additional information, contact Thel-
ma Stoudt at the STEP Learning Center
at Castleton State College in Castleton,
Vermont 05735. V

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