Fighting for the people

Story/Video posted December 21, 2011 in News by Alina Gluck

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Growing up in the small town of Manheim, Pa., Julian Haas had a rough time throughout school. Other kids perceived Julian to be gay even though he did not come out until after he graduated from high school. He was bullied all the time.

Julian told his family he was gay in March of 2009. Luckily, his family, including two older brothers, was accepting and supportive.

Julian has taken his difficult childhood experiences and turned them into something positive. Bullying has inspired him to become an activist.

Julian is a charismatic openly gay man. And Penn State has helped him become the person he is today. Through his many different leadership roles, Julian has an apparent passion for helping others. He says serving the community is one of the most important things in his life.

“My whole life will have been worth it if one person has a more positive life experience,” Julian said regarding his reasons for being an activist.

Julian will be graduating in the spring of 2012 with a major in sociology and a minor in sexuality and gender studies. He has been working with the LGBTA student resource center since he was a freshman. Julian has recently passed the torch to the new Rainbow Roundtable President.

In addition, Julian is an active member of Penn State's Delta Lambda Phi fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men. The fraternity was rechartered at PSU in 2011. Julian enjoys being a positive role model for others struggling with their sexual identity and feeling accepted. He describes the fraternity as a “beacon of hope for troubled youth.”

“I look at it as one of my major missions in life to show people that it doesn’t take an extraordinary person to be a hero, that in fact, heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things,” Julian Haas expressed his goal.

Julian plans to go to graduate school for student affairs. One day he hopes to either teach or run an LGBTA student center on a college campus.

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