Ben Smidt

It is different to be of any minority status in today’s society, senior Adam Nelson said.

“For me, that difference has given me focus,” said Nelson, who is a homosexual.

During his college career, Nelson has been active on campus promoting awareness and acceptance of diversity. His proudest accomplishment is founding the Peer Diversity Educators, a campus organization that educates other college students about diversity issues.

The group discusses classism, racism, sexism and heterosexism, which is the idea that heterosexuality is the only normal sexuality.

Nelson said he commits so much time to diversity education not because he has faced excessive discrimination as a homosexual. He said does it for others who are discriminated against, such as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender students.

“I’ve been very fortunate,” Nelson said. “I’ve faced very little direct discrimination or bias.

“It is more difficult to be LGBT,” he said. “I wanted to change that to ease the difficulty for others.”

Nelson said his goal was to take away barriers put up by prejudice and discrimination of all minorities.

He said he does this for people of all disadvantaged statuses in society.

Aside from his work with the Peer Diversity Educators, Nelson also worked as a resident assistant last year in Towers Hall.

As an RA, Nelson said he routinely dealt with difficulties others faced regarding the harassment of LGBT students.

The harassment exists in the residence halls, he said, and it can be a difficult place for many LGBT people to live.

Nelson advocates a three-step course of action for anyone that has experienced discrimination.

The first step, he said, is to know that the discrimination is not right, and it constitutes an injustice.

Second, he said, you must find an ally to talk with. An ally is an adviser and a sounding board so one can move to step three.

That final step is to make a plan of action to combat the injustice, he said. Notify officials of the harassment and pursue the case until the situation is addressed and faced.

Nelson was the campus LGBT organization’s chair for Student Senate for two years.

Senior Justin Hentges served as Student Senate president during Nelson’s term.

“We usually saw things differently,” Hentges said. “But I had to admire the gusto to which Adam defended his views. I found his commitment to his beliefs commendable.”

Andy Oettinger, Senate president last year, said Nelson has had a positive effect on the campus, specifically in the areas of LGBT awareness and advocacy.

The biggest misconception about being gay, Nelson said, is that it is a choice. It is well established that it is not a choice, he said, and it’s not a mental illness either.

“As soon as people are aware that it’s not a choice, then there are no moral grounds for persecution,” he said. “To be immoral, one must exercise free will.”

Nelson visited Laramie, Wyo. last spring to get an understanding of the murder of Matthew Shepard, a college student killed by two men in 1998 due to his homosexuality.

He said Shepard is a kind of historical figure in the movement for equality for the LGBT community.

“It was an emotional experience,” Nelson said of his trip. “It gave closure to the saga surrounding the death of Matthew Shepard.”