It Was A Risky Move... But It Paid Off [Movie Transcript]

Jaimie: From the beginning, the response to the Gender Bender Dance--Most of the ALLiES members were very supportive, but a few were hesitant because the Gender Bender Dance was a compromise and they really wanted a Drag Show. In general, over the course of all four years, attendance has been pretty high. It has ranged from over 100 people in our most recent year to about 300, which we had our first year.



We get people to challenge gender roles a little bit and to be more comfortable with other ways of living, if only for one night. People also get the chance to meet ALLiES and just have a really good time. I think people have a lot of fun at this event, and I hope that we can put it on for several years after I've graduated.

Everyone, Attack the Atheist! [Movie Transcript]

Jaimie: This one time I wore a pentacle, which is a star inside a circle, around my neck and two people who worked for my high school asked me if that meant I was Jewish! (laughter) And with derisive tones, as if because it meant I was Jewish, that was a bad thing. I'm like, "You're preparing to discriminate against me for being Jewish because I'm wearing a Wiccan pentacle?!"

And here, as an Atheist, I've felt things too. Every time I'll make a comment about--even trying to get religion on the table to discuss, especially religous affiliation in terms of Anti-Gay behavior/using The Bible for things--immediately, I'll be attacked for that. Without even saying anything negative, without even getting there, y'know? I wasn't even given the chance to say something negative! (laughter) So definitely, there is religous discrimination here.

The Initiation [Director's Commentary]

Well, as you can see, I'm standing in what is now an Overflow Parking lot. In 2005, when I first arrived on the Gettysburg College campus, I was immediately told to report there, but back then it was the Marching Band's Practice Field. I'm pretty sure the College paved over it sometime in '08.


In high school, I had been a prominent member of various Bands as well as the Drama Club, and I cherished the feeling of camaraderie and community I found in those clubs. So it was only natural for me to stick with it when I went to college... even I though I had absolutely NO desire to be a Music major or become a professional Clarinetist. Nope, not for me.


I KNOW, Carson Kressley graduated from Gettysburg! How random is that? Haha, the sad thing is, aside from politician Ron Paul, Carson Kressley (Class of 1991) is the biggest celebrity to come out (literally!) of Gettysburg College. During my freshman year, the college even sponsored a field trip to attend a private NYC party hosted by their beloved Queer Eye guy; President Haley Will, Jaimie Schock ('09), and Hanna Ackerman ('09) were the lucky Gettysburgians in attendance. Apparently, the President got drunk and made an ass of herself at the event... to the shock and awe of ABSOLUTELY NO ONE.


About two months ago, I went back to Gettysburg for the 2009 Gay And Lesbian Alumni reception, hosted by ALLiES. While I was there I had the pleasure of finally meeting someone who had interacted with Carson Kressley during his stint at Gettysburg. His former classmate told us that while Carson was here, he was a quiet transfer student who kept to himself, was not out of the closet, and was not an advocate for Gay Rights. Unlike other people, I wasn't shocked or disappointed... because I had already done my homework eight months prior.


Back in February, I was looking through the SPECTRUM (Yearbook) Archives and I noticed that Carson was not in the 1991 ALLiES club photo... but y'see, that ALLiES photo did not exist! It was a different time, a different political/social climate, and I don't blame him for not being comfortable enough to come out as an openly gay man in college. And for whatever reason, ALLiES was temporarily unavailable and/or insufficient as a support system. As I learned very quickly, in its 24-Year history, ALLiES has always been like a rising phoenix; every 4 or 5 years the group dies out completely only to be resurrected years later by a voracious group of freshmen. In 2005, we were those freshmen.


The summer after high school I often daydreamed about how wonderful college would be, and how I could finally start over with a clean slate, and be 100% honest with my classmates from the very beginning. Undoubtedly, it was a rude awakening when I arrived in Gettysburg only to feel like the ONE gay person on the entire campus. My hometown of Pasadena is a moderately conservative area and yet I had AT LEAST six gay/bi friends in high school. I never imagined that a college campus with students from around the globe would have LESS. It made absolutely no sense to me, so Thank God I met Jai in my creative writing class. Had she not come up to me after hearing my story, The Object of Obsession, I wouldn't have known an on-campus gay community even existed. Back then, it was very underground... literally.

The Initiation [Movie Transcript]

Hi, my name is James. I'm a Senior at Gettysburg College, and this is where our story begins--well, granted four years ago this wasn't a parking lot... but nevertheless, here we go.

I came to Gettysburg College from Pasadena, Maryland. The first thing I did when I got here was join the Marching Band; I had been playing for eight years. However, I was dismayed when I arrived to find that the last gay person to step foot here was Carson Kressley, of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame.

Dismayed by the lack of a Gay & Lesbian community here, I threw myself into my writing. After listening to one of my gayer stories, a friend named Jaimie Schock invited me to a meeting later that night. She told me to meet her in the Chapel and I had no idea why. I arrived and she led me down into the basement. And I had no idea where the hell we were going...

(Playing ♫ Over At The Frankstein Place ♫ by Alkaline Trio)
There's a light,
In the darkness of
Every bright life.

NO, WE CAN'T STAY FRIENDS: All My Romantic Relationships Have Ended Badly (Jaimie) [DELETED SCENE]

James: So, typically, what's the usual Cause of Death of your relationships?"

Jaimie: Generally, the usual cause of death is the other person in the relationship. For instance, in one of my major relationships, the other person cheated on me. I ended it there. Usually, I'm the one who ends the relationship because of something the other person did or the way someone was acting. Then again, I haven't had enough relationships to really create a trend. Mostly, it's the other person.

James: Do you typically stay friends with your ex-girlfriends?

Jaimie: NO. Because like I've said, I've had very few relationships, but generally, they've ended badly. I like being in a relationship, I think I'm good at being in a relationship, which means either the other person has to mess up or I have to mess up--but I've been good so far. The few relationship's I've had ended poorly because something bad happened.

I ALWAYS WANTED A SINGLE: I Suck At Choosing Roommates (James)

Freshman year I was randomly matched with Sean, a straight Lacrosse player from Babylon, NY. Surprisingly, he was completely accepting of my sexual orientation and didn't treat me any differently upon finding out... in fact, I think this revelation made him try even harder to come off as open-minded. I felt perfectly comfortable bringing guys back to the bedroom, though he didn't usually bring the girls back.

My Huber Hallmates were EXTREMELY accepting, though I was a bit suspicious of two guys who seemed uncomfortable discussing anything gay-related. Other than that, practically all the girls on my floor had borrowed and passed around my "Queer As Folk: Season One" boxed set. I found it cool that Sean would sometimes watch "QAF" with me, have no idea what was going on, but would let me know that he supported all of it.

I think Sean was a little uncomfortable getting dressed in front of me at first, but then I think he realized that not ALL gay guys were attracted to him, and he stopped being awkward. There were probably brief moments in the year when I did find him physically attractive, but of course, I never acted on any desires I might've had.

My first big mistake occurred during my sophomore year when I roomed with Billy, one of my ex-boyfriends. As I got to know him better as a roommate, I also found out that he was a Log Cabin Republican and possibly, bisexual. At the same time, it was a horrible yet wonderful experience. We had some bitter arguments, but we also had interesting 5-hour conversations.

The entire time we lived together, we never so much as hugged. Even though he and I had been intimate while we were dating (Spring 2006), I still have never seen him with his shirt off... he was slightly overweight and was afraid of offending people with his naked body. I'm the exact opposite; my motto's "Skin to the Wind!" I felt perfectly comfortable (un)dressing with him in the room, but he'd always dress himself in our tiny bathroom, despite how physically uncomfortable I imagine it was.

Since we had broken up over four months prior, I'm confident I wasn't still attracted to him while we bunked together. I felt comfortable bringing dates back to the room to meet Billy, but more often than not, my steady date was one of HIS ex-lovers, so he would usually find a reason to leave the dorm.

My even bigger mistake was rooming with Jinming, an International student, during my junior year. He spoke very little English and never cleaned up after himself. I don't even know if he knew I was gay until he saw me making out and writhing around on the floor with my boyfriend at the time.

I do believe he was straight, though he didn't go out on dates. It didn't really matter since I wasn't remotely attracted to him. I'm not sure how accepting he was of me, because frequently, he spoke Chinese with his friends and on the phone, so I never knew if he was actually mocking or insulting me. I never felt threatened by him, but I was scared by the cloud of mystery surrounding him. The ONLY thing we had in common was that we were both Film Studies majors. That year, I suspect that we had a gay CL, who did a pretty good job, but as far as I know, he has yet to come out.

This year has brought about my best roommate situation. I was placed with Travis, a long-time ALLiES member who was actually the first person I met @ Gettysburg College (on G.I.V. Day). He and are both Black gay men, and No, we have never been romantically involved. At times, I have found him physically attractive, but most of the time, I treat him like my little brother. We're both comfortable (un)dressing in front of each other, and that hasn't been remotely awkward, as far as I know.

I like rooming with Travis because it's fun to talk with someone about crushes, who we're dating, and gay pop culture without him getting grossed out or thinking that I'm perverted.

Living in ALLiES House has been amazing! Although seeing one of my exes on a daily basis drove me insane last semester, now I'm feeling much more at ease here. I feel like everyone in the house respects each other and is completely supportive when anyone's dating.

And although Jai [Schock] isn't an official House Leader, she has been a wonderful "Gay Den Mother" to us all. She's a pro at giving people advice on romantic relationships, as well as dealing with an array of personal problems.

SEARCHING FOR SPIRITUALITY: Everything From Zen Buddhism to Voodoo (Jaimie)

I have a long religious history. I was born atheist, went through all of the requirements for Lutheranism, spent a year in Zen Buddhism, did a few years in Wicca, moved on to Voodoo, and am now back to atheist.

With that said, organized religion bothers me a lot. It seems to do a great deal against gays and gay rights, and extremely devoted people who utilize religion in that way disturb me. I am also disenchanted with the amount of religion-based war we have in this world and the amount of money thrown around. The more the cult-like devotion, the more I am turned away. I wouldn't mind if religion never existed, though I would never advocate taking it away from people.

I have trouble understanding the more accepting parts of religions like Christianity, such as the churches geared towards GLBT people, because of all the negativity I have seen from religion. As for the less mainstream spiritual paths, such as Wicca, I understand the attraction of a GLBT person to such things. However, I personally have trouble accepting any spiritual path in my own life.

The spirituality of my partner is partially important. I don't mind if my partner is spiritual, especially if it is one of the less mainstream, more accepting paths, but I would prefer if she wasn't. I might have a problem if she was VERY religious. I do not want to raise religious children, which would be a point of concern.

Most of my reason for being an atheist comes from the horrible things I see going on in this world, especially in Africa. I have trouble believing that a god would let that happen.

Overall, there is really no place for religion in my life, and the last thing I need is another addictive substance.