Homosexuality is a controversial issue almost everywhere, and Iowa is no exception. Though acceptance of homosexuality is becoming more widespread, the awareness of gay issues by the general population is still limited, according to members of the ISU gay community.

“For a lot of people it has been kind of a non-issue, said Jeremy Hayes, former president of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally Alliance. “The people that have an issue with it tend to have an issue with it from afar.”

Hayes, senior in management information systems, said he has had very few negative experiences at Iowa State in his past four years, and he feels lucky that his experiences have been mostly positive.

Hayes said his involvement with the LGBTAA has allowed him to deal with negative experiences he’s encountered and find ways to come away from them positively.

“I built up a support network and a group of friends that I was able to talk with and deal with these sort of things,” he said.

Hayes also said his involvement with LGBTAA has allowed him to help change conceptions people have about homosexuality, showing a positive side of a controversial issue. Most of the problems associated with homosexual issues are due to the limited knowledge people have, Hayes said.

“I think that there’s a lot of people that don’t really have an awareness, and because of that, they’re not really comfortable dealing with LGBT people,” he said. “They haven’t been given the opportunity or taken the opportunity to know what’s going on.”

Hayes said people have some silly notions about gay issues, and if they were to just sit down and talk about it with somebody who was gay, they would realize it isn’t such a big deal.

Although he has had few negative reactions about his sexual orientation, Hayes said he still thinks many things need to be changed on campus and in the Ames community.

“This is my experience, and I can think of people who have had very different experiences,” Hayes said.

Todd Herriot, program coordinator for the dean of student’s office, said he has experienced a spectrum of negative reactions to being gay.

Since his move to Ames in 1993, he has been fired from his job, had his car egged and been asked to leave a restaurant because the manager thought he and his boyfriend were disturbing the other customers.

Herriot said he has had a couple of negative experiences working at Iowa State, but the faculty and staff are very open-minded when it comes to homosexual issues.

“I am in a professional position, I do my job well and people appreciate me, so I’m not concerned I’m going to lose my job because I am out,” Herriot said.

He said the experiences of faculty members are very different from those of students, however.

“I think it is better to be a staff or faculty member,” he said. “I don’t live on a floor with 80 of them or share a bathroom with them.”

Herriot said negative stereotypes people associate with homosexuals are mostly due to a lack of awareness, and manners dictate much of the acceptance people have of homosexuality.

“Out of traditional Iowa politeness, people are not generally bigoted,” he said.

Herriot said awareness of homosexual issues was a way for people to confront issues they are not comfortable with.

“Getting to know people and where they are coming from makes the biggest difference,” he said. “I do think things are getting better, but there is still a long way to go.”

Benjamin Taylor, information coordinator for the LGBTAA, said he feels safe in the Ames community.

He said Ames is “pretty much a positive environment” where people are generally accepting of homosexuality.

Taylor, junior in computer engineering, said ignorance is the cause of many problems people have with homosexuality. Taylor said homosexuals will always run into people who will not accept them or their lifestyle, but Ames and Iowa State seem to have very few of theses people.

“I think that being gay in Ames is positive,” he said. “It’s nothing to be too scared about.

“It just all comes down to the personal level. If you feel comfortable with yourself and you want to come out it’s a good place to do it.”