My name is Jericho Samson. I'm a tall, somewhat chubby but good-looking black man living in the town of Randolph, Massachusetts. Lately, I've been having a strange time, folks. The life of a black man in modern America is never easy but I think it's even harder when you're bisexual. I feel rejected by the world both because of my race and my sexual orientation. It sucks to be different sometimes. However, rather than to roll over, I decided to stand up for myself. I'm the only openly bisexual male at Randolph State College.
When I first came to Randolph, it seemed like a nice, quiet little town. I didn't think I would find this much trouble in such a small place. I'm originally from Atlanta and that's a world-class city full of wonders but also packed with troubles. Oh, well. I've always been a fighter. I attended Atlanta Regional High School and graduated last year with a 3.98 GPA. That's what won me an academic scholarship to Randolph State College. I'm a hard worker. Always have been. I come from a family of hard workers, you know. It's in my DNA to make the best of myself wherever I happen to be.
I get my strong work ethic from my family. My father, Kyle Samson is a physical therapist at Atlanta City Hospital. My mother, Jennifer Crenshaw Samson is a firefighter. My older sister Michelle is an engineering student at Georgia Tech. My brother Jones is a criminal justice student at Morehouse College. We live in West Atlanta. Life was alright. My folks wanted me to attend college in Georgia but I had to get out of town. See the world, you know? So, I did some traveling and visited places like New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and Texas before finally settling in Massachusetts. I thought Randolph State College would be a new beginning. I knew I had to expect some challenges. I just didn't think I'd face that much opposition.
Randolph State College is a four-year public school located in Randolph, Massachusetts. It's part of the state's public higher education system, along with the various UMass campuses and a couple other state schools. Randolph State College has an approximately eleven-thousand-person student body, and it's blessedly evenly split between the sexes. It was founded in 1977 by a Massachusetts-based philanthropic organization. Thirty years later, it was considered one of the best public colleges in the state, if not the country. A top notch school where some of the wealthiest men and women in the state sent their brats to be educated.
Randolph State College offers associate's, bachelors and even master's degrees in more than sixty fields. The school is widely known more for its athletic excellence, however. Randolph State College currently sponsors Men's Varsity Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing, Rugby, Bowling, Rifle, Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, Football, Soccer and Wrestling along with Women's Varsity Softball, Basketball, Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Golf, Rugby, Gymnastics, Bowling, Rowing, Fencing, Lacrosse, Ice Hockey, Soccer, Field Hockey, Wrestling and Equestrian. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division One.
Randolph State College has been touted by administrators and students alike as an athletic powerhouse. It certainly lives up to its name. The school has won national championships in men's and women's soccer, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, football, men's baseball, women's softball, men's wrestling and women's volleyball. It's the first college in New England to field a women's wrestling program. The school mascot is the Cobra. The sports teams are known as the Cobras and Lady Cobras. Randolph State College has a staunch rivalry with local athletic powerhouses such as Boston College and UMass-Amherst.
Back at Atlanta Regional High School, I played varsity football and I was an interscholastic wrestler. I was the best wide receiver on the football team. I also took first place at the regional championships in wrestling. Yeah, I love sports. Always have, always will. However, in college, I didn't have much time for sports. I was taking five classes in my first semester. That's not easy. The school had a Men's Fencing Club. I joined it. I've always been interested in sword-fighting, ever since I watched the Highlander Series as a brat. The Men's Fencing Club met just twice a week, late in the afternoons. I loved holding a sword in my hand and going up against experienced swordsmen. Sometimes, I got my butt kicked. Other times, I won. Yeah, it's not always about experience. The element of surprise can overcome differences in experience and skill. Trust me on that one.
Every student-led sports club in school had to have a faculty liaison, that was simply the rules. Our faculty liaison was Meredith Lawson, a tall and good-looking, blonde-haired and green-eyed, forty-something white woman. She used to be on the Women's National Fencing Team, a long time ago. Yeah, she took Gold at the Olympics, way before my time. She was the Head Coach of the Women's Fencing Team at Randolph State College and the faculty advisor to the Men's Fencing Club. A skilled swordswoman, she was a great sparring partner. I practiced with her many times and I learned a lot. The Men's Fencing Club competed against various other Fencing Clubs from schools like Boston College, UMass-Amherst, UMass-Lowell, Boston University and others. What I love about fencing is that whether you win or lose, it's entirely up to you. It's not like football or basketball where one player's wrong moves could cost the team the whole game. Fencing was a very individualistic sport. The sport of champions. I loved it.
There were several cool people in the Men's Fencing Club. George Stein was a six-foot-tall, red-haired and freckle-faced Irishman who once attended Boston University. He left that school because he wanted to play College Football. He's a running back on the Randolph State College Varsity Football team. A really nice, easygoing guy. He would become one of my best friends. My other pal was teammate Larry Dawson. A big and tall, olive-skinned and brawny young man with braided hair. Half Mexican and half Caucasian. He was a goalkeeper on the Men's Varsity Soccer Team and a part-time member of the Men's Fencing Club. We sometimes hung out together. Boston City was only a few miles away from Boston. We'd hop into George's red Hummer and head to the city to have some fun. Boston had it all. Clubs. Movie theaters. Big schools. Enormous libraries. A large subway system. All the elements of a world-class city.
One time, George and I went to this downtown Boston nightclub. Dawson couldn't join us. He was traveling out of state with the Soccer players. The club was alright, but not really my scene. I did notice lots of sexy guys and sultry and gorgeous women dancing. I sipped on my Pepsi while George had a beer. He was approached by this sexy Asian woman who was short, sultry, and sparkly-eyed. He introduced her as Jennifer Chang, his main squeeze. Jennifer smiled and shook my hand. She told me a little bit about herself. She was a Boston College student and a college football fan. I've always been puzzled by female football fans. They're so...unusual. Most females I know don't care about watching sports, especially men's sports teams. Jennifer was something else. A five-foot-eight, busty, delightfully curvy Asian beauty with a fine, nicely rounded bottom. Yeah, she was alright.