2007 POINT SCHOLARS

Philip Rogers-Reeves

University of Buffalo

English

When Philip came out to his fundamentalist Christian, parents in North Dakota, they gave him an ultimatum: leave the family without support, or change his sexuality. However, when Philip tried to leave, he was physically restrained and had to escape. With only a few clothes and no shoes, he lived with friends until Tony and Tom, a committed gay couple in the community, took him in and treated him like their son. They became a family, but they faced heavy opposition from the community. When they pursued an adoption, Philip's old church and birth family gathered outside the courtroom yelling, "Don't let Satan win."  The adoption was denied and the negative public attention eventually resulted in Tony’s changing careers. With no reason to stay, they decided to move to Buffalo, NY where Philip is majoring in English at the University at Buffalo. 

Philip plans to become the legal son of Tom and Tony, and eventually attend law school so he can help others fight unfair treatment and bigotry. Meanwhile, he is working on founding a Gay-Straight Alliance at his school and increasing student awareness of issues the LGBT community faces every day across the country.