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Alumni Caucus
for Gay, Spring 1999 Newsletter |
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Caucus Members Write
Thanks
Thanks once again for all your work on the Alumni
Caucus. Please know that it's greatly appreciated by those
of us who are physically far away from AC.
Cheers,
Joe McCombs. '95
Gay Games & Life at Allegheny
You asked me if I could write about my experiences at
the Gay Games in Amsterdam and /or at Allegheny College. I
will give you a little of both.
Firstly, when I came "out", at the age of 26 in 1993, I was in Philadelphia taking courses for my master's degree in education at The University of Pennsylvania. I knew I was gay for awhile but I have never been in the "scene." So, I decided to join a running group, The Frontrunners, which is an international lesbian and gay running organization. From there I got involved in various groups in the gay/lesbian community. Many individuals, especially the runners, where talking about going to New York City and participating in the Gay Games. I have never in my life heard of such a thing. It's history stems from the founder of the Gay Games, Olympian Tom Waddell. The first two Gay Games were held in San Fransisco, then Vancouver then New York and Amsterdam. The Gay Games follow the same format as the Olympics (every four years). So, I trained with the group and participated in the Gay Games in New York. My team did okay. We medaled in three events.
I decided to be more active for the upcoming Gay Games and I was named coach for the track field events. I also served on the board of Team Philadelphia, the governing board of the Gay Games for the members of the Delaware Valley Region. With the next four years to practice, we continued on our regular running but included (in the last year) sprint workouts and hurdles events. I also was responsible for the filed events but didn't feel comfortable with training anyone in them since I wasn't a field person in either high school or at Allegheny College. I was fortunate enough to know of two Olympians in the city who were field people. One Olympian is gay and the other is a lesbian. They were very eager to train the team in the shot put, javelin and discus. This really helped up myself and the other team members in excellent shape. We were training five days a week. Since, we never did field events we had alot to catch up on, especially the fundamentals.
We arrived in Amsterdam with lots of high hopes and HUGE expectations. We knew that the competition would be fierce because of the huge European athletes compared to the New York Gay Games. We also know that there were over 14,000 athletes who will be competing. There were nearly 1,000 Track & Field athletes alone. The Track & Field athletes represented over 30 countries. The awards went in several categories: 29 year old and younger, then 5 year increments after that up to 60 yeard old then open from there. Most events, they collapsed ages 34 and younger into one category for medal purposes. We were fortunate to do well. I was lucky enough to be injured free the entire week of competition. As you know from the article in the Allegheny Magazine, I medaled seven times. Some official told me that I was the most decorative athlete from the United States. That made me very happy and proud. I was also chosen to be the flag bearer for Team Philadelphia. Being flag bearer was the greatest honor which has been bestowed upon me. The competition was as expected FIERCE but the camaraderie was overwhelming. I was glad to see old friends from the NY games and of course meet new ones. The events and cultural activities were amazing. There were over 300 activities/events throughout the ten days including the Opening and Closing ceremonies. I have MANY pictures of The Games.
Secondly, my experience at Allegheny College was GREAT. I had a wonderful time at Allegheny and I owe alot to it as well. Allegheny College is definately apart of my life. I was actively involved with the Cross-Country and Track and Field teams for three years. I received my varsity jacket for both sports. I am also a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. While a member of the fraternity, I held a position as pledge master and the Deputy Archon for district II (regional position).
I have met wonderful people at Allegheny, both faculty/staff and students. I wasn't out then because it wasn't an issue to me at that time of my life. I was just happy to be there and living life to the fullest. My memories include but not limited to the: the bond which I developed between myself and my fraternity brothers; fraternity gatherings which include parties and "inside debates"; Coach Yuhasz and Dean Yuhasz (my adopted parents from home); my mentor Dr. Paul Zolbrod; my teammates on both teams; my friends Erin McDonald (Rowley), Yvette Johnson (Alston), Ayesha Dean-El, Karen Crump, Anne Spivey (Willis) and Randy Zell; being very social and my time in the Admissions Office as a tour guide for four years.
I must say that I have been a VERY fortunate individual. My experiences at Allegheny College and in my personal life have been EXCELLENT. I also have a life partner. His name is Alaric (Ric) Dalberg. We purchased a house almost two years ago in Center City Philadelphia.
I wish you well and I am looking forward to meeting as many individuals from the Allegheny College community as possible. Take care of yourself.
In Rainbow Spirits,
Jose A. Rodriguez (Tony), '89
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