Brilliant PLNU student, who is also gay, in the Huff Post

A recent graduate from my alma mater, Point Loma Nazarene University, was published Jan. 30 in the Huffington Post.

Here is his piece, which is about coming out as a gay man at the christian college.

Congratulations, Todd. I hope we get to meet some time.

My expanding research interests

Since I was 12 years old, I wanted to be a sports writer. Everything I did in high school and college was directed toward that goal. With such intensity aimed at one goal, I achieved it right after I got my undergraduate degree in Journalism in 1996.  For the next 12 years, I covered everything from little league baseball games to the Super Bowl, from community college water polo to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, from JV girls basketball to the U.S. Open tennis championships. And, without exaggeration, I absolutely loved my job.

When the newspaper for which I worked was closed in the spring of 2009, I came to Ohio University looking to burn a year and get a master’s degree. It was during that year that I took Susan Burgess’s Law & Sexuality class and I realized how smart all the people around me were.

I knew immediately I wanted to stay in this environment and that I could never go back to being the sports writer I was before I came to OU.

My stab at being a restaurant critic: GO EAT AT 9 TABLES!

This isn’t my typical post, but I had a dining experience tonight that I want to share. If you are ever in Athens, Ohio and want an all-around fantastic, supper club-like dining experience, go to 9 Tables (in the building where Mistretta’s used to be on Schafer Street.)

My parents and I went tonight and enjoyed every minute for over two hours. This place is a gem. It’s unique — reservations only and prix fixe five or seven-course meals all prepared before you in an open kitchen. The chef/owner Bill Justice tells you about the fresh ingredients, purchased that very day, and his methods.

Bill and his wife Suzanne Mitchell let us try a little bit of everything, all while filling our glasses with a bottomless bottle of wine and moscato.

9 Tables, which literally has nine tables, looked like it was closed as curtains covered the glass doors. However, the doors were unlocked and we entered a small, efficient, comfortable space — dimly lit, warm colors, soft jazz playing. (For my friends in Seattle, this place has the ambience of the old Asteroid Cafe, complete with a restroom on the other side of the kitchen even!)