For gay couples, a Valentine's Day like any other

Despite the skewed gender ratio, it's not uncommon to see couples strolling down Skiles arm in arm, especially at this time of year.

With such a diverse student body, Tech plays host to a variety of couples: some between different races, some between students several years apart in age-and some between members of the same sex.

For Valentine's Day, the Technique sat down with three different gay couples to hear their stories and learn what it's like to be in such a relationship at Tech.

Hai Nguyen & Jason Taylor

Many couples have to deal with the reality of long-distance relationships. In the case of Hai Nguyen, a third-year Computer Science major, his boyfriend Jason Taylor, a fall 2003 graduate in Mechanical Engineering, has a career as a software consultant that keeps him away from Atlanta for weeks at a time.

"Our time together is so precious, we've just gotta make the most of it, which requires sacrifices on both of our parts," Taylor said.

"I try to do all my assignments before he comes back into town," Nguyen said.

When they are together, the two hang out, watch movies, cook and occasionally go clubbing. They also have a fondness for working on cars.

"Sometimes I hang out with him when he goes to his office...and I'm actually planning on dragging him to some of my classes on Tuesday," Nguyen said.

Nguyen has already made plans to join Taylor on his work assignment in San Francisco over spring break.

Nguyen and Taylor only started dating last summer, although they met while both were still students on campus.

"I think the first time we met was actually at a bookstore," Taylor said. "[I met Nguyen] just through friends of friends."

Because of Taylor's short stay in town before he returns to work in San Francisco, the two plan to take full advantage of the Valentine's Day holiday.

"We'll probably...just have a romantic evening with dinner and go back, relax, watch a movie," Taylor said. "Just spend[ing] time together is the most important thing."

Brian Rutland & MacField Young

Brian Rutland, a second-year Chemical Engineering major, and MacField Young, a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering major, have been dating steadily since they met at a post-GTCOW party last fall.

"We...just started talking about languages, talking about culture, and then [it] just went on from there," Young said.

Rutland and Young hit it off in part due to a sharing of common interests-particularly languages-that gives them plenty to do and discuss when they're together.

"Sometimes we just like just sit and practice," Rutland said. "He speaks a lot better Portuguese and German than I do, and I'm going to make him learn French, just because French is cooler than either of the other two."

"I don't think so," Young replied, turning to Rutland.

"Well, that's because you're wrong. Yes, my opinion's more important than yours," Rutland shot back.

"No, its not."

"Is so."

Aside from their love for argument, the couple also enjoys movies and cooking, both for themselves and for their friends.

Regardless of their sexual orientation, Rutland and Young face the same complications as most couples at Tech: namely, finding the time to squeeze their relationship in between their classes and extracurricular commitments.

"We try not to get in the way of the schoolwork, but when we do have free time, we make sure we take advantage of it and spend it together," Young said.

The couple has been talking about plans for Valentine's Day to celebrate their newfound relationship, including a night out and a potluck dinner with some friends.

"It's the first Valentine's Day that I've actually been in a relationship...and so I do want to do something," Young said. "It's a day to express your love for someone."

"Chocolates are never a bad thing-and at Valentine's Day you can get some pretty good ones, 'cause stores stock them," Rutland said. "So hint hint."

"He's subtle, isn't he?" Young said.

Keith Manning & Justin Wong

Unlike Taylor and Nguyen, Justin Wong, a fall 2004 graduate in Psychology, and Keith Manning, a fourth-year Computer Science major, have a relationship where they see each other every day. The two have been living together for the last two years.

"Basically, [we're together at] every single meal except for breakfast," Wong said. The rest of the time, "We just try to see each other whenever."

Their relationship dates back to Manning's freshman year, when the two met at a Pride Alliance party.

Their mutual activities tend to revolve around eating and sleeping, they said. "We're barrels of fun like that," Wong laughed. "We're too poor to enjoy the finer things in life, [but] we hang out with our friends...and play Smash."

As for Valentine's Day plans, Wong and Manning said they haven't made any yet. Wong is busy preparing for his psychological exam to become a Public Safety Officer with the Georgia Tech Police Department.

"If I get that, then I've basically got the job...[and] then we're going to be doing lots and lots of drinking," he laughed. "Wow, my life is defective."

Unlike straight couples, gay couples often face the potential problem of being criticized for their relationship. Nevertheless, each couple interviewed said their friends have been very supportive-even if all of their families aren't aware of the relationship yet.

"Bumps in the relationship are smoothed out by our mutual friends," Wong said.

For the rest of campus, they said, it's generally a non-issue.

"I live in Fourth Street Apartments, and everybody on the entire floor is just really cool with it," Nguyen said.

Rutland and Young pointed out that how the campus reacts to their relationship depends on how the two of them behave in public.

"We're not in your face about it," Young said. "I mean, we walk down the street holding hands. We kiss each other goodbye...it's like being in a regular relationship. I would treat [Rutland] as my boyfriend just like I would if I had a girlfriend. Nothing different."

"There are rules about what is socially acceptable in front of other people, and you follow them," Rutland said.

That still doesn't stave off the possibility of conflict, although any reaction of disapproval that the couples did remember came primarily from the public at large rather than the student body in particular.

"We were walking across the bridge to Technology Square, and we were holding hands, and there [were] all these parents walking [in] the other direction, and we got the ugliest stares," Taylor said.

Nevertheless, the general feeling among each couple is that these fears are unfounded.

"Our relationship isn't any different than a straight relationship, except it's between two guys and how they act and how they are," Young said. "We're normal, I guess. As normal as Tech students can be."