2008 POINT SCHOLARS

David Seitz

Wells Fargo Point Scholar

Macalester College

French and Gender Studies

David Seitz came of age in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin, amid a reactionary political environment. Like many U.S. states, Wisconsin amended its constitution in 2006 to privilege heterosexual marriage at the expense of same-sex families. Volunteering with Fair Wisconsin, a campaign to defeat the 2006 amendment, David lobbied state legislators and shared with them his personal coming out story. His state senator at the time responded by personally mailing David a reading on “Re-orientation Therapy.”

But instead of being converted to an “ex-homosexual,” David lobbied public officials, hosted fundraisers, befriended campaign interns and levied his position with the media to help convert the senator to an “ex-public official.” This experience confirmed for David, that advocacy via personal stories and relationship-building has the power to transform society.

David currently attends Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he is majoring in Political Science with a minor in both Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and French and Francophone studies. A writer, editor, activist and student, David is invested in anti-racist, feminist and queer approaches to journalism, coalitional politics, spirituality and social geography. He plans to use his education and experience as an activist in the areas of media and academia.