Gay Students Getting More Scholarships

The resume that earned Brett Janecek a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame had all the trappings of an overachiever: Student body president. Debate team captain. Varsity football player.
Another key factor: He came out of the closet.
Being gay traditionally has been one of the last items college students would include on scholarship applications, which tend to flow into organizations across the nation this time of year. Now, being gay can unlock money for college.
"All I've heard from my parents is that being gay is not going to help you in anything," said Janecek, a sophomore who figures a full scholarship from a Chicago foundation will save him about $40,570 in education costs this year. "These people absolutely understand and embrace you for your sexuality."
Donations from individuals, foundations, corporations and charities to scholarships based on sexual orientation have ballooned in Indiana and nationwide.
At least three scholarship programs exist specifically for Indiana students, including one from Indy Pride, a local gay-rights advocacy group.
The outpouring of scholarships is a reflection that more teenagers are defining themselves as gay earlier than those in generations before them, according to experts at a national group working to improve campus conditions for gay students and employees. They also credit public sympathy for the unique experiences of gay college students.
"More students are out in college than ever before, so the need is more visible," said Brett Genny Beemyn, an Ohio State University instructor who heads a national group of campus directors of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender services.
Many corporations already give to scholarship programs for black, American Indian and other minority students. A growing number are including gay students in their efforts. CNN, for example, donated $100,000 last month to a national scholarship program for aspiring journalists who are gay.
Kathy McKiernan, a spokeswoman for CNN parent company TimeWarner, said the company's scholarship donation to the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association fits in with its "work to help disadvantaged and under-represented youth prepare for and succeed in college."
TimeWarner's gift went to the Point Foundation, the same nonprofit paying Janecek's way through Notre Dame.
The Point Foundation, which aims to combat discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender students, formed four years ago with about $150,000 for eight scholars. Its budget for scholarships and student services now tops $3 million, an amount that is expected to balloon now that TimeWarner, CitiGroup, Abercrombie & Fitch and other companies have signed on as donors.
The application window for 2006-07 Point Foundation scholars opened last month. Director Vance Lancaster expects about 5,000 applications -- more than twice the number that came in last year.
Students are selected after an extensive verification process that includes essays, high school transcripts, personal interviews and letters of recommendation.
"We're trying to grow really quickly because there's such a demand out there," Lancaster said. "A lot of our donors say, 'I wish there were something like this when I was growing up.' "
Family rift
Janecek, a Catholic, has felt the ache of rejection.
He realized he was gay while growing up in Billings, Mont., but said he concealed it to keep the peace with his parents.
Janecek accepted his sexual orientation last year, as a freshman at Notre Dame. His parents didn't.
He stumbled across the Point Foundation in an Internet search for scholarships.
His academic track record got the scholarship committee's attention. So did an essay about his parents' reaction to his sexual orientation.
Janecek's father acknowledged the strained relationship but said he still writes checks to support his son.
"I'm very proud of Brett," Tex Janecek said. "There's a kid who, if he wanted to be a doctor or a nuclear physicist, he certainly has an ability to do that."
But Tex Janecek also described the Point Foundation as a political organization that cares more about promoting a homosexual agenda than the education of students. He said the group took an interest in Brett only because of his high-profile Catholic school, where past efforts to recognize gay students have failed.
"If he was at the University of North Dakota, you never would have heard of Brett Janecek," Tex Janecek said. "That's what makes me sad. In my mind, the gay and lesbian issue is a private choice, and it has nothing to do with political activism."
Slow change
A condition of Janecek's Point Foundation scholarship is service to the gay community.
Janecek has big plans for his years at the nation's most visible Catholic university, ranked No. 2 in a Princeton Review survey this year for low acceptance of gays. His goal is to create a more welcoming campus.
Notre Dame's religious sensibilities have worked against efforts to create university-endorsed gay student groups and to include sexual orientation in an anti-discrimination policy.
University officials, however, say they have tried to make Notre Dame a more welcoming environment.
"What the official policy is, basically, is that we do lots of education about the issues faced by gay and lesbian students," said Sister Mary Louise Gude, a Notre Dame assistant vice president who heads a university committee for gay and lesbian student needs. "That's really the end of the line."
Janecek, who studies political science and theater, says Notre Dame has a long way to go.
"It's hard to get people to want to do things and step out and fight a little more," he said. "There are so many people who are so afraid of that gay culture anyway, that it would be very hard for even the 'out' gay students to be really actively involved in public events."
The Point Foundation's Lancaster expects acceptance for gays to come in time, but "it's going to be a very long road."
For now, students benefit from the financial support of the scholarships and the emotional support of donors.
"It's meant the world to me," Janecek said. "My experience is legitimized by having these people around me."
from Indy Star