T.R.U.T.H. Part Five

Immediately after the lawsuit was filed, I gave a press conference on the steps of the courthouse. Some of you may have seen the coverage on television or the internet, read about it in the newspapers, or heard it on the radio. The media was very kind. I remember a question that was asked at the press conference. A reporter from Fox 5 was in the front row, and asked me the following question:

“Why didn’t you just go to another Catholic school that already had this kind of group? Why try to be a groundbreaker, a trend-setter, when you could have gone somewhere else that already had the group? Why not go somewhere else?”

My answer to that question was simple.

“Because we shouldn’t have to.”

I asked the University, and then the Court, to give students the full recognition that other groups receive. The push for recognition was seen on the front pages of many newspapers. It should be said, though, that I did not sue for money, or for fame, or for attention. I didn’t care about that. I still don’t. I’ve never been interested in being a groundbreaker. I only want students at Seton Hall to be able to endure together what I endured alone. In becoming the victim of a hate crime in my freshman year, I learned first-hand the importance of finding allies to help you through difficult times.

After working its way through smaller courts, Romeo v. Seton Hall University found itself in the New Jersey Supreme Court. That's a long way from a small town in upstate New York.

Look at your classmates, your friends, the people around you. These are the people that you must work with in an effort to better our world. It's only when you see and feel the people behind the organization and not simply the organization itself, that you can ever really begin to affect change and begin the act of doing good in a community.

I am not going to sit here at my computer and tell you that I have some great power to make a difference in the world, for I alone do not. But it has never been doubted that strength exists in numbers. If you wish to change something, then work together and do it. Don't wait. A lot of the problems in our world exist because people are forgetting how to care.

Tolerance, in respect to sexual orientation, has taken many bold steps in the past decade. I am proud to have played a part in this. But there is still much more to do, and there is still a war to be won. And as I was told growing up, it's important that we do this; be a soldier.

I was always told that I could change the world when I grew up. I beg to differ, because I know that none of us have to wait until we grow up to make a real difference in the world. The actions that we take now, including our inactions, have a direct bearing on our lives in the future.

I leave you with a quote from Ursula K. LeGuin, who says this:

"It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters, in the end."

For more information about the T.R.U.T.H. lawsuit, please visit my attorney’s website at www.shanahanlaw.com.

I travel to Universities and Colleges year-round as part of this on-going initiative. For booking information, please e-mail rcromeo30@hotmail.com.