Tuesday began in the normal mode with gym, then breakfast with Damon. Checking his e-mail before leaving for class, Bryce found a notice from Felicity Gaines, the President of the LGBT Club, calling an Executive Committee meeting that morning at 11:00. That was unusual. As the secretary, Bryce would normally have been asked to distribute this call. Clearly, it was something which had come up at the last minute which powered Felicity’s message.
Bryce told Damon about the called meeting as they walked to campus. Damon said, “Hey, that brings something to mind. Don’t you have some guy on that committee who’s into ROTC? I seem to remember meeting him that time we were carrying placards in front of Dinklemore Hall. An Oriental guy?”
“Yeah. You’re thinking of Scott Huong. He’s of Vietnamese ancestry. What about him?” Bryce replied.
“Well, you remember the day of the demonstrations, when we were checking out the wounded, we came across Buck Lomax. He was wearing army fatigues. A lot of those who were beating up the demonstrators were. So, maybe this Scott fellow knows Buck,” Damon concluded.
“Damon, you’re brilliant! I totally forgot about Buck wearing fatigues. I’ll be sure to ask Scott,” Bryce promised.
Damon hedged his bets. “Of course, Lomax could have just bought them at one of those army surplus stores, or maybe they’re left over from a JROTC battalion in high school.”
“Nope, you’re not going to discourage me. I’m sure this is important,” Bryce insisted.
By then, they reached their Art History classroom, and settled down to listen to what Dr. Padgett had to say. She moved on from the Roman Baroque to French Classicism, and was talking about François Mansart and Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Louis Le Vau and Charles Le Bruin, and the palace at Versailles. She showed pictures, especially of the paintings of Nicolas Poussin, but also including the work of André Le Nôtre, who even imposed order on shrubs, developing the French formal garden. French Classicism has all the energy and dynamism of the Roman Baroque, but under great restraint. It has been called ‘controlled magnificence.’ All very interesting, but Bryce found his attention wandering as he pondered the meaning of the emergency meeting of the LGBT Executive Committee.
As soon as the Art History class let out, Bryce and Damon headed towards the Union. Damon headed into the cafeteria, where he commandeered a table and set about studying his Spanish while sipping coffee. Bryce headed upstairs to a meeting room, where the LGBT Executive Committee was meeting.
When Bryce entered, he immediately established himself near the head of the table, so he would be well situated to take notes in his capacity as secretary. There were no formal minutes of Executive Committee meetings, but there were informal notes, just as a reminder of what was discussed and decided. After a few minutes, everyone was there. Bryce took a moment to say to Scott Huong, “I’d like to talk with you a minute after the meeting,” and so was prepared to follow through on Damon’s suggestion.
Felicity opened the meeting by stating that she appreciated everyone turning out at such short notice. “The reason for the meeting is that our next club meeting is just two weeks away. We had a speaker lined up from the Gay Alliance here in Clifton, who was recommended by Josh.” At that, Josh looked embarrassed. The reason was immediately made clear. Felicity continued, “I got a call yesterday evening from our speaker saying he could not make it. When I pressed him for the reason for the cancellation, he confessed that he had just met a new sex partner, and they were going away for a week to get better acquainted.” Felicity paused. “I’m afraid I lost my cool. I yelled at him, and used some very un-lady-like language, so he not only will not be our November speaker, but he will not be coming at all.”
She looked at Josh. “What are you grinning about?”
“I’m just glad I’m not the only one with egg on my face,” Josh responded. “I did hear this guy speak once, and he was powerful, but I know nothing else about him,” he admitted.
“So,” Felicity said, “we can toss out all the flyers we had prepared to distribute across campus, cancel the notice in the Courier, and trash the poster I’ve been working on. But what are we going to do for our November meeting?”
That set off a spate of suggestions, most of which were highly impractical. Bryce had no idea what to do, and so contented himself with taking notes. Finally, Anne Cantrell, the treasurer, suggested a movie night, with a film with a gay or lesbian theme. That set off a second round of wild suggestions.
Finally, Bryce said, “Come on, guys. Can’t you come up with something that’s not pornographic?”
“What?” Josh Young replied. “Are you suggesting censorship?”
“Don’t be silly, Josh,” Felicity Gaines said. “You know very well Dr. Burnett would love to shut down this club, and showing something pornographic would be just handing him a tailor made excuse on a silver platter.”
“Besides that,” Bryce added, “we want to keep public support with the on-going matter of the attack on Peter Boyington and the subsequent attack on the campus demonstrators. Including you. Sponsoring something filled with profanity and nudity is not going to do that.”
“So we have to muzzle ourselves?” Bob Bentley angrily demanded. Bob was known as what Bryce’s mother would call a ‘potty mouth.’ Thinking of that made Bryce smile, which Bob evidently took as some kind of put down.
“We don’t need adverse publicity,” Felicity said.
“But, damn it, that’s the way real people talk,” Bob insisted.
“Not all real people. I think some of us get along quite well without profanity or vulgarity every second word,” Bryce replied.
“Come on, Bryce. I’ve heard you say ‘fuck’ just like other guys,” Josh said.
“Perhaps. But if I did, I meant it. I did not use the word just for emphasis, or to fill in empty space because I could not think of anything significant to say,” Bryce replied.
“I think this is getting us nowhere,” Felicity interrupted. If we’re going to sponsor a film, it should be one that will appeal to a larger audience than just the hard core LGBT crowd, and definitely one which will not give the Admin something to hold over us.”
“Hard core, eh? I like the ‘hard’ part,” Bob stuck in.
Felicity just glared at him.
“I saw something not too long ago that might work,” Mike Sandoval said.
“What’s that?” Felicity asked.
“It’s called Breakfast with Scot and is about three or four years old. As I recall, there are two jock types who are gay partners, but very much in the closet. Somehow, I forget just how, they became the guardians of an eleven year old kid who is a flaming queen. I mean, this is a boy who wears make up, has one of those feathery neck scarves, and I think it was his mother’s charm bracelet. He has no inhibitions whatsoever. The movie is funny, but it has a serious side, about how the guys cope with the kid, Scot, and, I guess, about learning to accept yourself.”
Felicity began, “That sounds ...
“... like a major yawn,” Bob insisted.
“I like anything with a guy named Scott in it,” Scott Huong said, tongue firmly in cheek.
“Oh, yeah,” Mike remembered, “this Scot spells his name with only one ‘t’, and one of the guys says it became his life ambition to get that kid a second ‘t’.”
That evoked laughter from most of the committee members.
As it was approaching noon, and several members had classes to get to, Felicity called for a vote. “Number one, do we want to sponsor a film? If not, we need to meet again in the next few days to come up with what we do want to do.”
“We could just have a business meeting,” Anne said.
“Let’s vote,” Scott urged.
And so a vote was taken, and by four to two, Felicity not voting except in cases of a tie, it was decided to sponsor a film. Then the next item came up.
“Okay, number two, do we want to sponsor Breakfast with Scot or something else? And if we decide on something else, I’m going to appoint a three person subcommittee to make the selection,” Felicity announced.
The vote was taken, and Breakfast with Scot won by the same vote of four to two. With that, the Executive Committee meeting broke up.
Bryce caught Josh Young by the arm. “You voted with Mike and Scott and me. I didn’t expect that.”
“Sometimes you make sense, Winslow. I don’t want the VPSA breathing down our necks, and I am serious about wanting to resolve the violence issue, and we’ll need public support for that. That’s a lot more important that what movie we show,” Josh responded. “Don’t expect me to agree with you on everything.”
“Such a thought never crossed my mind,” Bryce assured him.
Scott Huong was waiting. “You said you wanted to speak with me after the meeting. It’s almost noon. Do you have a class now?”
“No. Not until 1:30. I’ll be meeting Damon for lunch sometime before that, though. You?” Bryce responded.
“I’ve got a one o’clock lab, but I’m free until then,” Scott replied.
“Why not join Damon and me for lunch, then? What I wanted to talk about was his idea anyway,” Bryce invited.
“Okay, let’s go,” Scott agreed.
And so they descended to the cafeteria level, where they encountered Damon more or less lounging about waiting for Bryce to show up. He was still at the same table he had occupied for the past hour. That was all to the good, as the cafeteria was getting crowded. Damon and Scott shook hands. Then Bryce volunteered to man the table while the other two went through the serving line. When they returned, he got his own lunch. Only then were they ready to talk.
Bryce led off. “Scott, I know you’re active with the ROTC program here at U of C. I’m wondering whether you can help us with a certain individual we’ve come across.”
“Who’s that?” Scott asked.
“His name is Buck Lomax,” Damon responded. “Back on the day of the demonstrations, after the demonstrators had been beaten by those para-military types, Bryce and I went over to see whether we could help with anything. One of the unusual things we saw was one of the attackers was also among the wounded. He was dressed in fatigues, and had the name ‘Lomax’ on his shirt.”
“We’re wondering whether he’s part of the ROTC program, or is just wearing fatigues as part of that group he belongs to,” Bryce added.
When the name ‘Lomax’ was sounded, Scott got a serious look across his face. He kind of chewed his lip for a minute before responding.
“I know who you mean,” Scott said. “At the beginning of the year, he showed up as a gung ho recruit, right out of his high school JROTC program. And he does know a lot of technical stuff. But he completely misses the idea of esprit de corps. He’s always trying to show how he’s better than anyone else, even though he’s a freshman.”
“Causes problems, does he?” Damon commented.
“Big time. And all kinds of problems. There are lots of cadets who won’t work with him any more, as he tries to tell everyone else what to do, and takes all the credit when things go right,” Scott said.
“But ducks when things go wrong, I’ll bet,” Bryce guessed.
“You got that right. All right, you guys know I’m in the LGBT Club, so you know I’m not homophobic. Lomax is, and I mean big time. He uses every derogatory word in the dictionary, and I suspect a few that never made it there, when referring to gays or lesbians. And he regularly uses such terms as put downs, even to guys who are not gay. It got to the point a month ago that some of us went to Col. Tremoyne and complained,” Scott related.
“How could you do that with this ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy in force? Isn’t that telling?” Bryce asked.
“I said Lomax used pejorative terms referring to gays even to straight guys. Some of those complaining were definitely straight, either because they’d been called names, or because they agree that gays should not be subjected to that kind of language. None of us said we were gay,” Scott said.
“So, what did the Colonel do?” Damon asked.
“He listened. He said something like, ‘situation noted.’ That was all. We didn’t know what to expect. But next day the Colonel came up behind Lomax as he was spouting off at a female cadet, calling her all kinds of things, including ‘slut’ and ‘lesbo.’ Just why he was ticked off at her, I don’t know. The Colonel used his parade ground voice when he commanded, ‘TENN HUT!’ Of course, both Lomax and the other cadet came to attention. Then the Colonel read Lomax the riot act. He dressed him up and down, informing him that each cadet was to be treated with respect as an officer in training. He reminded Lomax that he was merely a first semester cadet. He might have learned some valuable skills in JROTC, but JROTC is not part of the Army, and carries no weight in ROTC. He did not outrank anyone. I liked the way the Colonel stressed the word ‘anyone.’ Oh, yeah, I was right there, listening for all I was worth. Then, Col. Tremoyne focused directly on the complaints. ‘I understand you like using abusive language about your fellow cadets, Mr. Lomax. Well, that is going to stop. There is no way you are in a position to do so. Do I make myself clear?’”
Scott was relishing relating this incident. “Lomax tried to defend himself. He said something like, ‘Some of the guys act like fucking fairies.’ The Colonel then really lit into him. “Have you not heard of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, Mr. Lomax?’ ‘Yes, Sir,’ Lomax said, then screwed himself by adding, ‘it means the queers can’t go around advertising.’ ‘No, Sir, it does not!’ the Colonel practically yelled. ‘It means exactly what it says. It means you keep your mouth shut when it comes to the personal lives of your fellow cadets. And it means you do not use terms like you just did about anyone ... ANYONE ... in this battalion. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Lomax?’”
Scott was having a ball emulating the Colonel, and Bryce and Damon were following his story intently. They did not notice that Scott’s vocal theatrics was attracting a crowd. Their concentration was broken when another student approached Scott.
“Cadet Captain Huong,” the student commanded his attention, “are you quoting our commanding officer?”
Scott was on his feet and saluted. “Yes, Sir, Cadet Major Fielding. I was, Sir.”
“I hope you are quoting him accurately, then,” the other said.
“Yes, Sir. As accurately as I can,” Scott replied.
“In that case, no harm done. Carry on,” Fielding said, and turned on his heel and walked away.
Some of the students standing around tittered and giggled at that, but Scott glared at them, then sat down again.
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” Damon asked.
“Oh, no. Gary Fielding and I do that kind of thing from time to time. It’s kind of fun, actually. And it does remind me to be accurate when quoting the Colonel,” Scott answered.
“I’ll never understand you military types,” Damon said with a grin. “But it sounded like your Colonel gave the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy his own spin, and one in our favor.”
“That’s the way I read it,” Scott confirmed. “And Lomax has gone around mumbling, but has not dared come out with any of his scurrilous epithets since then.”
“A minor victory, but still a victory,” Bryce assessed the situation. “But, do you know anything about Lomax and that para-military group that beat up the demonstrators back two weeks ago?”
“Not to say know anything for sure,” Scott admitted. “A couple of the guys in the unit said he was trying to recruit them for some kind of ‘special forces’ type of organization. Entirely unofficial, you understand. No connection to the ROTC program.”
“But he never tried to recruit you?” Bryce asked.
Scott grinned. “As I understand it, this organization has something to do with white supremacy and Aryans. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m Vietnamese.”
Damon whooped at that, and Bryce looked a little chagrined.
“I know that. I was not thinking,” Bryce admitted.
“Actually, it’s good that you don’t always think in racial terms. But in this case, it is relevant,” Scott grinned again. “I’m afraid our mutual acquaintance, Mr. Lomax, does always think in racial terms. He and I are not exactly bosom buddies.” He chuckled. “It really got under Lomax’s skin last week when I was officer of the day, and was able to give him a couple of demerits.”
“Scott, be careful,” Bryce warned. “We have reason to believe Lomax was not only involved in the clashes on campus, but also in the beating of Peter Boyington as well. He just may decide to do you some harm. And he doesn’t play fair. When he attacked Peter, it was three on one.”
“Yeah, we’re not entirely sure who all three were. There are four possibilities,” Damon related to Scott. “One we’re fairly certain was involved is Ed Cuttlesworth. We have an overheard conversation between those two which tends to indicate that.”
“Oh, I’ve encountered that one,” Scott said. “It’s not a name you forget. He showed up early in the semester at the ROTC headquarters, but then disappeared. Rumor has it he couldn’t pass the physical, but I’m not sure of that. Anyway, he and Lomax seem to be together a lot.”
“Yeah, my pledge in Sigma Alpha Tau knows both of them, as they’re local like him. He says they’ve been thick as thieves for years,” Bryce said.
“I can believe the ‘thieves’ part,” Scott said. “Some equipment has gone missing from ROTC lately. Col. Tremoyne is royally pissed about that. Again, nothing but rumor, but one of my buddies says he thinks Lomax is skimming things off to that special unit of his.”
“Keep your eyes open. If we can get definite evidence of anything like that, it will help with the overall situation,” Bryce said. “It will also help if ROTC equipment is found to be used in some illicit manner. Like attacking gays. Or pesky Vietnamese.”
Scott grinned again. “Us pesky Vietnamese will keep our eyes open.”
That seemed the limit of what Scott could tell them, but it was good to know that there was another ally working to solve the problems of the beatings on campus. Scott would let Bryce or Damon know of anything he discovered, or anything untoward happening in the ROTC unit.
Scott left for his lab session, and Damon left for his Spanish class. Bryce checked campus mail, but found nothing interesting. At 1:30 he went to his Italian Renaissance class, but, while he found Dr. Belzi’s lecture on Pietro Aretino fascinating, it did nothing to contribute to a solution to the campus mysteries.