Steven Scales is a man who wore many different hats as a college student. He served as an orientation leader, a waiter, a college council president, a Catholic, the 2003 homecoming king — and he is gay.
In his four-year career at LSU, Scales has gone from an in-the-closet social outcast to an openly-gay student leader in a predominately conservative student population, making his sexuality a job in itself.
Scales graduated from the University in May with a degree in print journalism.
Scales arrived on campus in the fall of 2000 a weight-conscious, depressed and insecure freshman.
Scales moved into Herget Hall and immediately tried to get involved on campus. He was elected Herget Hall President and unsuccessfully tried out to be an LSU Ambassador, the student orientation organization utilized by the LSU Office of Orientation during freshman and transfer orientation.
“I knew from the moment I set foot on this campus that I wanted to be an Ambassador,” Scales said. “I was overly enthusiastic — they were a little homophobic at first — and I didn’t get in.”
Although Scales knew he was gay, he had not come out of the closet yet. His family, faith and the fear of homophobia kept him in the closet until his sophomore year.
Living in Annie Boyd Hall, Scales met Kendell Satcher, who he said “saved my life.”
Satcher is Scales’ “gay best friend,” and the one who changed Scales’ outlook on his sexuality.
“Kendell was the first person who ever told me that just because you’re gay you don’t have to live the immoral lifestyle, take drugs and have sex,” Scales said. “He told me it was OK to be gay.”
Scales came out of the closet on September 29, 2001, just one month into his sophomore year.
“Coming out was the single most defining moment of my life,” Scales said. “I was ready to take on the world.”
Coming Out
Newly out of the closet, Scales’ first challenge would be coming out to his parents.
Growing up in Shreveport, La., Scales did not relate well to his father, who has had problems with alcohol in the past. Scales said he is closer to his mother, but sometimes resents her for not removing him and his two sisters, Amy, 19, and Krisi, 12, from “that situation.”
This awkward relationship made coming out that much harder for Scales.
But, telling his parents was something “I had to do,” Scales said. Despite his Catholic upbringing and his fear of rejection from his dysfunctional parents, his mother, Debbie Scales said she reacted with fear and, ultimately, acceptance.
“I felt very sad for him,” Debbie Scales said. “I knew things would never be easy for him and the normal things I looked forward to would never happen.”
Debbie Scales said she also feared for Scales’ health, but never felt differently toward him.
“I never suspected Steven was gay — probably because it wasn’t anything I was looking for,” she said. “He was always looking for ways to stand out, and at first I thought [his coming out] might be an attention ploy.”
Steven’s sister, Amy Scales, a secondary education sophomore, said at first she also thought her brother may have been looking for attention.
“My mom thought it was a phase at first,” Amy Scales said. “My dad didn’t talk about it — they were both really confused.”
Amy Scales said once her parents realized Steven’s sexuality wasn’t a choice, they accepted him.
“One day, my dad just point-blank asked me [if Steven really was gay],” Amy Scales said. “They accepted him.”
Scales said after coming out to his parents and friends, he received compliments for his courage.
“For the most part, no one was really surprised. In fact, most people were really relieved and supportive,” he said. “As a leader, people looked at me more than others for a different or varying opinion.”
With a newfound inspiration and the unwillingness to give up on his goal, Scales decided to try out once again for the LSU Ambassadors.
The second time around was much different, Scales now was openly gay, and he was anxious about the hostility that could come from an organization which, at the time, had no openly-gay members.
“I had only been out for a week,” Scales said. “It was the first instance in my entire life where I was facing a community as a gay leader.”
Scales prevailed though, and was selected to become an Ambassador. During Ambassador training, Scales believes he made a breakthrough with the organization.
“My friend [who was in the closet] got really upset because the guys were calling people faggots,” Scales said. “I asked everyone to stay and talked to them, I stressed the importance of acceptance. I told them what that word means and how it affects me as an individual and how it degrades an entire community of people. It was the best speech I have ever given in my entire life. I was demanding respect for myself and others like me — it was truly empowering.”
Through his involvement with Ambassadors, Scales took a more active role on campus and soon became Mass Communication College Council vice president and a year later, president.
“I don’t think people took me seriously when I first came out. I was a hot mess. I was young, having fun, experiencing life for the first time,” Scales said. “My selection as an Ambassador and my election to college council really opened people’s eyes to what type of person I really was. People no longer saw me as just a gay guy who’s only into himself. I was a servant of the LSU community.”
As that servant, Scales served as the Ambassador’s training chairman, and “was essential” in the Manship School of Mass Communication’s re-accreditation process in 2004, said Dean John Hamilton.
“If you give him a job, he’ll do it to the best of his ability,” Hamilton said. “He’s a very decent, positive guy. He got those students involved with the accreditation and was their leader during the process.”
Scales capped off his leadership role at LSU by being crowned Homecoming King at the Nov. 1, 2003 football game versus Louisiana Tech.
Walking through campus before his graduation in the spring, Scales is greeted by passers-by. He stops to hug a sorority girl and shake a fellow Student Government member’s hand — he had become the poster boy for the gay community for much of the 30,000-plus students, faculty and administrators on campus.
“Some people do see me as just a gay man. Some see me as funny, the homecoming king, the friend of a friend, some see me as a threat,” Scales said.
Scales said he remembers when he was working as a group leader for STRIPES, a program centered around the pre-orientation to the history and traditions of LSU, when someone considered him a threat.
“There was this kid who looked at me with fear. I could tell he felt uncomfortable so I didn’t want to draw attention to him,” Scales said. “I made a point to be nice, he has to get to know me on his own pace, I can’t just say get to know me before you judge me.”
Scales said when he is faced with people who aren’t used to him, he tries to treat them exactly as he would like to be treated.
“It takes a lot of faith, too,” he said.
Keeping the Faith
Faith is something Scales has a lot of; he prays regularly and attends Christ the King Catholic Church weekly.
Raised a devout Catholic, his religious experience has been a roller coaster. Scales said during his darkest hours, there was a point where he did not even believe in God.
During his sophomore year of high school, Scales had fully realized he was gay and was wrestling with other inner demons. He was suicidal and overweight, he said.
“I had nothing going for me,” he said. “I prayed to God to take it all [his sexual urges] away, I didn’t want this. And then it got to a point where I felt so guilty I was suicidal.”
Scales said he was at the point of believing that God had abandoned him, but an unplanned trip to confession at his church turned into a life-changing experience. As the priest was absolving his sins, Scales said he felt the weight of his sexuality come off of his shoulders.
“In the Christian sense, I was saved,” he said. “Ever since then I can’t believe I ever doubted God’s presence in my life.”
Rachel Sherburne, the 2003 LSU Homecoming Queen, attends church with Scales at Christ the King and also is religious.
She said the Catholic Church does not shun homosexuals and only considers the act of homosexuality a sin.
“Steven can’t help the way he is,” Sherburne said. “He has a lot of courage — to be gay and open about so many things … every Christian is scrutinized and held to a higher standard, he is trying to make his life, in any way he can, that standard.”
Sherburne said she and many other Catholics believe people like Scales do not choose to be gay.
“Everyone has a burden to bear,” Sherburne said. ” [Other homosexuals] have all said to me ‘why would I choose this, why would it interest me?'”
Scales said he believes God has made him the way that he is. For that reason he should not abandon God, or the church.
“Growing up, I would always thank God that I wasn’t a minority and I didn’t have to deal with being discriminated against,” Scales said. “Somewhere along the way I realized that was such a horrible attitude to have and now, being a part of a minority, it’s taught me the importance of accepting everyone. If I wasn’t gay, I wouldn’t be as accepting.”
Supporting the Lifestyle
But being gay doesn’t pay the bills. Twenty hours a week, Scales works as a waiter at Chili’s restaurant on Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge.
Late one rainy Sunday night, Scales is one of three waiters in the restaurant. He has one table — a family of three snacking on some nachos and cheese. In between casual conversations with his co-workers and waiting on his lone table, he seems happy to simply be interacting with people.
“I’ve taken that personality test that compares you to a bird,” he said, stacking plates into a sink in the kitchen. “I’m definitely a peacock.”
Scales believes he fits the description perfectly. A peacock is someone who has pictures of himself around the house and generally likes to be the center of attention, he said.
“That’s so me,” he said.
Scales said he works at Chili’s for the money, unlike his previous job of three years as a Phi Mu sorority houseboy on LSU’s campus.
“At Phi Mu my heart was in it, here I’m just a part of a big machine,” Scales said. “Now I go back there for the fun of it and I work here for the cash.”
It’s now around 10 o’clock and Scales is the last waiter in charge of to-go orders. Even after six hours of work, Scales cheerily answers the phone — not like a robot, but with all the flare one would expect from the self-proclaimed peacock.
Chris Girouard, a biological sciences sophomore, works with Scales at Chili’s and said his attitude is unmatched around the restaurant.
“Sure, I can tell when he’s having a bad day,” Girouard said. “But he’s always got that upbeat attitude going; he’s really funny too.”
Girouard said he knew Scales was gay shortly after meeting him, not because Scales told him, but rather because he had heard Scales was the “gay” Homecoming King.
“That’s really cool that he could get elected by the students in such a conservative place — maybe our society is changing,” Girouard said.
Winning the Crown
When Scales made the decision to apply for Homecoming King in early fall 2003, he didn’t think he had a chance of fulfilling the dream he has had since attending his first homecoming game his freshman year of college.
“When I got selected for the court, I figured I was the underdog.” Scales said. “I wasn’t anyone important. I was up against the student body vice president, the wing commander of Air Force ROTC, the Student Senate speaker. And here comes the little gay boy, president of the smallest college on campus, a houseboy for Phi Mu and an Ambassador. But I made a difference.”
Amy Scales was a self-proclaimed “groupie” of Scales during the homecoming election.
“I knew how much a difference he makes in so many people’s lives,” Amy Scales said. “I was really proud of him; I cried when I found out he won.”
During half-time, the court was announced and Scales walked out onto the field. He said he wasn’t going to get his hopes up because he didn’t want to be disappointed.
“When they announced me [for court] I got a ridiculous amount of applause,” Scales said. “My homecoming partner was like ‘you got this.'”
After the court had been announced, the announcer paused for what Scales said was “the longest pause I have ever heard in my life,” and announced him as the 2003 Homecoming King.
“I leapt three feet in the air — it was so obnoxious but I couldn’t control it.” Scales said. “It was such a great day.”
His queen, Sherburne, was announced next. Sherburne said four years ago LSU was not ready for a gay homecoming king.
“He represents the campus in his own way — people are proud of Steven and what he’s accomplished,” she said.
Scales said despite only having 5,000 people vote in the homecoming election, a small fraction of the campus population, he deserved the honor.
“It was such a big deal for LSU,” Scales said. “I was so proud of my University.”
The Queer Reaction
There are some on campus, though, that don’t see Scales as the poster boy for the gay community.
In front of the LSU Union April 21, Spectrum Alliance, the student lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activist organization on campus, observed the national gay and lesbian day of silence. With tape over their mouths, the student activists passed out white t-shirts with the word “silenced” written in bold block letters on the front.
Passers-by looked over these queer students as the mostly unknown faces of just another activist group.
The group’s ad-hoc leader, Anna Byars, who also is co-chairperson of Spectrum Alliance, said the purpose of the day was the antithesis of what Spectrum Alliance works for the other 364 days of the year.
“We speak out every other day of the year, but we are heard more today,” she said.
Byars said she has never seen Scales at any Spectrum protest and doesn’t expect to see him at their table today.
“It’s disappointing in general that on a day like this we don’t have more queer support from outside the organization,” Byars said. “You don’t have to be an activist to be part of the culture.”
Byars and her fellow Spectrum members say they respect Scales for his accomplishments around campus and admit that by Scales not being in their organization, they may be broadening the scope of diversity on LSU’s campus.
“You can be more effective if you don’t put all your eggs in one basket,” Byars said.
Byars said she doesn’t consider Scales one of the hardest working gays on campus, but rather one of the most popular.
“I believe that he is involved in many activities that have absolutely nothing to do with his sexuality,” Byars said.
Maturing In His Role
On one of the final Friday nights of his college career, Scales easily could be out at a bar celebrating his graduation. But instead, Scales could be found at the Catholic Student Center, facilitating a retreat for STRIPES leaders. He spoke to the leaders-to-be about compassion and setting an example for the incoming freshman they will lead. After, Scales received a phone call asking him to come out to Splash, a predominately gay bar just outside the campus gates, but declined in favor of a shower and sleep.
“When you first come out, all you want to do is have gay companionship,” Scales said. “You think your life will change when you go to the bar, but if you’ve been there as much as I have over the past few years, it’s the same old people and the same old drama.”
Scales said he recently has tried to become more serious about school, something he said he has been lacking over his college career.
Hamilton believes Scales’ involvement around campus has furthered his education.
“Anybody who does these types of things has a richer education,” Hamilton said. “It gets you involved with your education instead of just passing through and picking up your diploma.”
This May, Scales graduated with a GPA just above a 3.0, grades which he said have been affected by his involvement around campus.
“There’s a direct correlation between me getting involved on campus and my GPA falling,” Scales said. “I didn’t take advantage of my education as much as I could have. I’ve always said it’s more important to get an A in life than an A in class.”
Although he earned a degree in print journalism, he doesn’t have any idea what he’ll be doing in the professional world.
Scales now plans to move to Houston at the end of August to look for a job and live with his aunt and uncle.
Now less than two weeks away from leaving the campus and city he has grown to love, Scales made his final rounds around campus — saying goodbye to various colleagues and administrators who have helped him along the way.
“I’ve had such an amazing four years here, I can’t imagine not being involved and parading around like always,” he said. “I wish I could stay and change the campus more.”
Scales admits he wouldn’t be the person that he is today had he not come to LSU — and he doesn’t think LSU would be the place it is today had he not come to Baton Rouge in 2000.
“Yes it’s just my sexuality, but that affects every part of me,” Scales said. “I’ve tried to make everyone else realize that as well. It makes me more compassionate, more loving and as hard as it is, I try to be understanding. Being gay has made me a better person to those around me.”
Amy Scales said she does not know what Scales will do with his life, but she said she knows he will strive to be in the public eye.
“You always hear people say, ‘I want to change the world,'” Amy Scales said. “When my brother says that, I actually believe him — he has a personality worth a million dollars and it will take him far.”
Scales said he is stronger and more thick-skinned after his four years at LSU, and the campus has become a less hostile place for young gay students.
“In terms of acceptance, the campus has gotten better.” Scales said. “This campus wasn’t ready for a gay Homecoming King four years ago. Now it’s not taboo to say ‘I know a gay guy and I think he’s pretty cool.'”
Scales said after leaving LSU he doesn’t want to stop changing people’s opinions about the gay community.
“I want to get married, and adopt children,” he said.
Scales hopes to one day have a partner that can help him create a model couple for the gay community.
“After all, someone has got to do it,” Scales said. “Might as well be me.”