David Campbell

David A. Campbell

After rocking the political infrastructure of the BGLTSA, this senior has left the organization a changed person, with a reconceived idea of gay politics.

David A. Campbell '00 credits the Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian and Transgendered Students Association (BGLTSA) with helping him tremendously in his coming-out process. The social network it provided helped him to come out to his roommates, friends and, eventually, his family.

Though the political end of the organization did interest Campbell somewhat, he had always favored the social opportunities it fostered more. Nevertheless, he became an executive board member by his sophomore year. That's when things started to go sour.

Campbell describes the transition of the organization that year as a movement from social to political. He himself was "disillusioned" by this shift.

"I had no bad experiences on campus," he says. "I don't feel like a victim. I support the causes but not the agitation."

Campbell sparked criticism when he objected to racy--and, he felt, "confrontational and tasteless"--advertising flyers for BGLTSA events, and evoked further ire by conducting an election over an e-mail list with a limited outreach to potential candidates.

He was impeached for his infractions by the rest of the executive board, and since then has been active in the organization only in a social sense with fellow members, attending dances and similar events.

In the future, Campbell does not see himself doing any direct work for gay-rights causes.

"We all have causes we want to fight for," he says. "I just don't see it as a professional issue."

Though Campbell came to campus as a self-proclaimed liberal, his experience led him to change his political views.

He started writing for the conservative Salient and grew interested in libertarian political philosophy. While he considers sexuality to be primarily a private concern, he does recognize the fundamental, civil rights issues at stake.

"It was a painful experience that led to a personal evolution of my own political views," he says. "I am more comfortable with this political position now; I don't really have any regrets."