<p>My son, a current high school junior, has been very involved in high school drama. The high school does a play each semester and he has had major roles 4 out of the 5 semesters he has been in high school. This semester, the high school did the play “The Laramie Project”. This play was written 5 years ago after the murder of Matthew Shepard, the gay University of Wyoming college student in Laramie. The play is a series of scenes in which various people in Laramie are depicted giving there reaction to the murder, the people involved, and how Laramie was affected by the trial and all the publicity. The play is somewhat controversial and not often performed by high school groups. Because of this, it attracted the attention of a national anti-gay group who came and protested the play, causing quite a bit of publicity, counter demonstration and discussion in our city.</p>
<p>Through all of this, my son became involved in a few things. He and the director were guests on a local radio call in show for about a half an hour. They were interviewed about the show and their experieince with it as well as fielding questions. There is also a nation documentarian who is making a film about hate and came and interviewed about a dozen of the kids in the cast, again including my son. The documentary will likely be shown on PBS and the is slated to be used in high schools as a discussion mechanism for talking about hate. The play is over, but now several other high schools in the area are requesting that they bring parts of it to their schools for performance and discussion, and my son will be participating in that, also. We don’t know yet how many of these they will do.</p>
<p>So, how does all of this get summed up on a college application? I would consider what he is doing community service, but certainly not in the traditional sense of the word. It also demonstrates leadership, but again, certainly not traditional leadership. He is not involved in any gay rights group, but is dealing with all of the issues of gay rights and hate crimes through his involvement in the play. Is it best to address this stuff in an essay if he chooses and not even bother trying to summarize it as an EC? For the record, he is straight, but doesn’t care if people think he is gay because of his involvement in this, so that is not a concern of his. </p>
<p>My guess is there are other kids out there whose ECs do not fit neatly into the prescribed boxes on the Common App. How should these more complicated ECs be dealt with?</p>
<p>Yeah, there was a thing on 20/20 a couple weeks ago stating that there is evidence now that drugs may have been the main factor, not gay hate. However, the murderers were not charged with a hate crime and were sentenced for kidnapping and murder, both of which did occur. And, ultimately, the play really deals more with how the people of Laramie reacted to all the publicity and to the nature of the perceived crime. Even if they decide that gay hate was not the motivation for the crime, the play is still a valuable way to help people examine their own thoughts on how we as a society deal with people who are different from us or whom we don’t agree with.</p>
<p>Essays are the ideal vehicle to present interests and exeriences such as your sons’.</p>
<p>Here’s one possible approach: </p>
<p>Use the Meaningful Activity short answer to set the background. Theater is is most meaningful activity, because the involvement is this play took him to a place of political activism/social conversation that he never expected …</p>
<p>Then, use the main essay to highlight some slice of the experience: appearing on a PBS documentary, dealing with hatred of anti-gay protestors, or whatever works for your son.</p>
<p>That gives him a one-two punch that ties together an academic EC interest and wider issue of social envolvment. A one-two-three punch if you want to include a campus’ gay rights/social activism as a reason for choosing “Why Podunk University”. If he wants to really tie it together, research gay activisim or hate speech initiatives at that school and reference a desire to become involved in SPECIFIC activities on campus.</p>
<p>IMO, you son has a terrific selling proposition to stand out from the crowd, in part because gay activism and hate speech are major hot button issues among the academic crowd. The fact that the whole experience grew from a piece of literature is a bonus. </p>
<p>I love a topic like this because it allows a student to sell a distinct personality through experiences that took a bit of gumption or iniative. No need for grand conclusions or life lessons – the events speak for themselves.</p>
<p>It is your son’s choice whether or not to identify himself as straight. It certainly could be done adroitly as a part of the main essay. “Little did the protestors hurling epithets at me know that I am a heterosexual male whose only interest is the issue is fundamental fairness…” My gut hunch is that the selling proposition is even stronger coming from straight male, so that should be included. But, that’s a call for your son. If he doesn’t self-identify, the adcoms will probably assume that he is gay.</p>
<p>No, <em>they</em> didn’t decide that it wasn’t homophobia. There has been some ex-post facto PR tap dancing on the assailants’ behalf to make the crime “more acceptable.” You can probably Google any number of sites on this; a lot of the gay community are outraged over this.</p>
<p>InterestedDad, you made some great suggestions. I have to disagree on one thing and that is that someone would assume that being involved in this drama would imply one to be gay. The people in the drama are actors. The followup (documentary, interviews, outreach to other interested schools) to this involvement stemmed from this production itself. Just my view. </p>
<p>Shennie…I think what your son has been involved in after doing The Laramie Project is very exciting and I am going to share it with my daughter. This past summer she saw this play twice. First she saw a production outside of NY. Then at her summer theater camp in NY, where she has gone for seven years so far, they put it on. Her boyfriend was a major player in the production, as was one of her roommates. We have a video of his production. My D recently performed a monologue from this play. So, she will be interested in your son’s story. She also was tied to the TV to watch the recent documentary. </p>
<p>Anyway, I think this experience would make for a great essay topic as it weaves in many things about your son. So, that is one place to include it. </p>
<p>As far as the resume…first, he can list his involvement in the play itself under his theater activities. Then he can have a separate entry that deals with “activism” and annotate the entry to list these followup activities such as the radio show, documentary interviews, and sharing with other schools about this project. While not quite the same, my theater daughter is also into “activism” to some degree and last year did this big “project” she created around peace and orchestrated a big event to raise awareness, that she called a “musical teach-in” fashioned after the sixties. It involved a great deal of research which she made into an extensive Power Point presentation and video clips, hired performers (mostly teens) including herself to perform songs and poetry on this theme and got a local venue to let her use it for the evening. Anyway, this “activity” is an entry on her activity resume. Her resume is all annotated so that is how one can explain what these things are or what is involved. </p>
<p>PS, I meant to say that the production of Laramie Project at my daughter’s camp was performed by a teenage cast. Also, my other D saw it again this fall at Brown performed by college students.</p>
<p>Shennie, oops, me again! I went back to read your OP and realize you were asking about this as an entry onto the Common app activity list…and my suggestion was referring to it as an entry on a more comprehensive Activity List (often called “resume”) that I suggest all applicants include and this resume would be annotated and thus an opportunity to explain just what was involved. The little chart on the Common App does not do certain ECs justice or your involvement in them. Your son’s situation is a good example of that. So, my suggestions in my post above was talking of it as an entry on the attached resume, sorry if that is not clear.</p>
<p>What I was trying to convey is that a college essay about the associated activities – the documentary, the educational efforts, etc. – would raise the question about the applicant being gay. </p>
<p>“Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”, but if the applicant chooses to clarify, then it could be easily handled as an aside in the essay.</p>
<p>Yeah, I don’t know though. If he had been involved in “gay rights” activities, then maybe one inference COULD be that the applicant was gay. But if the story has the elements that Shennie wrote about…it all seems directly related to a play production…the radio talk show and documentary dealt with what it was like to be in this play…and then the performances of portions of this play at area HS as a stepping stone to discussions…all center on being an actor in this particular play. So, the way I read Shennie’s “tale”, even IF she had NOT pointed out that her son was not gay, was such that I never got any impression the actor (her son) was gay because all of the described “activities” related to being in a play on this topic. This is different than being in GSA…an activism organization, though even being in that does not imply being gay but MIGHT draw some to conclude that. But being in a play and in associated media coverage of the play and sharing the play at other schools to heighten awareness, etc…just never got me to conclude or question if the participants were gay. Just my take.</p>
<p>I agree this production and subsequent events are a perfect opportunity to connect the dots between a favorite EC, community service, leadership, social activism plus an example of talent, character and a maturing, life enhancing experience. It would make an ideal essay and has enough material for both the long (an event that affected me) or short (the EC that means the most to me) and could be reinforced in your sons teacher and counselor recommendations. Personally, I like the idea of an EC/interest package, which includes a personal statement, a list of classes, events, accomplishments, awards and any miscellaneous related materials such as recommendations, press notices, test score really anything that sheds light on his/her favorite activities. I know some people have felt that this approach is overkill and that the EC list says it all. Im not recommending insincere spin, but rather a way of effectively focusing and amplifying inter-related (and as you say complex) activities.</p>
<p>I dont think that anyone reading about your sons involvement in this theatrical event will automatically assume that he is gay. If he feels he wants to mention that hes straight, then Id agree with I-Dad that it presents an opportunity to exemplify a lesson in tolerance. If he doesnt want to get that detailed, a little ambiguity wont hurt him. Depending on where hes applying, gay students are in demand for diversity. </p>
<p>Also, is this the son whos an Eagle Scout? (Forgive me if Ive got him mixed up with someone elses kid. The search mechanism is non-functioning just now.) With all the heat that Boy Scouts are taking lately regarding their national leaderships thickheaded approach to gays, this situation could also tie into his Boy Scout involvement. I mention this because my son encountered some hostile PC reaction to his Boy Scout activities and learned to be ready with a counter-explanation.</p>
<p>Interesteddad - thanks for the great suggestions. I will print out your post and file it away for future reference when we get to essay writing part next fall.</p>
<p>Momrath - I do have an older son who is an Eagle. He is currently a college freshman and did write a paper his senior year strongly disagreeing with the national Boy Scout organization for their gay stance. The younger one was involved in scouts until high school, but there are only so many hours in a day and the youngest is one of those kids who does not deal well with sleep deprivation. As it is, between high school theater, his music activities and homework, he often is up til midnight.</p>