A question of diversity

A Conway couple takes sociology students at the University of Central Arkansas beyond the white picket fence for a glimpse of a family life many would rather avoid and some preach against.

Allison Vetter, assistant professor of sociology, prepares her students for controversial topics in family diversity by passing out a syllabus on the first day of class.

Some drop the class, Vetter speculates, because of the idea of exposure to gay culture.

MIKE KEMP PHOTO  

John Schenck and Robert Loyd have been giving presentations about the gay lifestyle to various sociology classes at area colleges.

It's not easy for John Schenck and Robert Loyd, a gay couple who live in Conway and often speak to sociology classes, to present their lifestyle to a classroom of young students. It's not easy living as a gay couple in the tall, pink house in downtown Conway either. Love makes it possible, the men say.

The pair began their presentation to Vetter's class on Thursday with a brief introduction and then tested the atmosphere with humor.

"Being gay gives you (a) certain inequality that we hope to someday change," Loyd said.

"There's not a human being on the planet that's better or worse than any other human being on the planet," Loyd said. "It doesn't matter what you do or who you sleep with as long as you're not hurting anybody else or yourselves."

Openly gay men experience plenty of prejudice, they explain.

"(There is) a percentage of the population who thinks we should die ... or be put on an island," Schenck said.

"It's not contagious," Loyd assured his listeners. "We're not recruiting."

A return of laughter from the group breaks the ice.

Male spectators of the presentation don't usually make eye contact with the men until the ice is broken, Loyd said during an earlier interview. The crowd on Thursday was unusually receptive, however, according to the men.

Not all presentations by the men have gone so smoothly, they said. Once, a male student became upset, stormed from the classroom and didn't return.

Loyd and Schenck said that some men are afraid they will turn gay by making eye contact. It can create a tense environment, they said.

"Once you know us as a person, you're not going to be so judgmental," Loyd said, referring to people in general.

History

Schenck grew up in New York with five brothers. One brother would later hold Schenck's new boyfriend, Loyd, while another pistol whipped him. A football player, Schenck was beaten by several members of the team after rejecting sexual advances from one of the players. In 1969, Schenck participated in the Stonewall riots in New York, he told the class.

Loyd was born in Germany and came to America when he was 3 years old. He grew up in Damascus. His family has a strong military background. Loyd denounced his German citizenship when he was 18 to join the United States Army. He fought in Vietnam.

During an earlier interview, Loyd discussed fighting for his rights. He was naive, Loyd said, and later felt like some of the rights he fought for seemed to be jerked away.

"I was born with those rights," Loyd said to the class.

"My life is about all of us being equal and sharing equally in the burden of life, or the joys of life," Loyd said.

The couple celebrated 29 years together Jan. 19.

Religious twist

A student asked the men how they "deal with" those with strong religious beliefs, because "the Bible says..."

Jerry King, 30, a gay reverend who moved to Conway four weeks ago from Texas, helped Loyd and Schenck respond to the question.

King said he believes that religion and culture should be considered separately. Biblical laws, he said, were created for a culture in the Jewish community and not intended for Western culture.

Biblical interpretations without regard to "historical significance" is a problem, Loyd said.

Student response

The presentation was a nice "insight into a culture that seems hidden away," said UCA junior Dustin Roberson, 23, of Conway. "A lot of times, people have a misconception" about the gay community.

"They want to live in a loving relationship just like everyone else," Roberson said.

Roberson was impressed by the length of the couple's partnership.

"It was refreshing to learn that a homosexual couple could be together for 29 years," Roberson, 23, of Conway. "I don't know very many heterosexuals" who can make it together that many years.

Other classes

Loyd and Schenck have led presentations for UCA and University of Arkansas at Little Rock students for about six years, they said. They have spoken in Mimi Rohweder's sociology classes at UCA. It was the first time they have spoken in Vetter's class.

Vetter said the class covers families with various issues such as poverty, racial mixtures, broken families and same-sex relationships.

Vetter said the presentation went over "really well" on Thursday and she will invite the men back for future classes.

"They're going have to think about this whether they want to or not," Vetter explained. It helps, she said, "as students get used to seeing" the existence of homosexuality.

Vetter attaches a quote by Andrew J. Cherlin to the syllabus:

"Some observers may impose their own theological definitions of what constitutes a family from religious works such as the Bible or the Koran.

"But social science cannot determine the moral essence of the family, nor need it do so."