Todd Belok with Dan Choi (Photo courtesy Jamie McGonnigal)

In the fall of 2008, George Washington University freshman Todd Belok was pledging campus fraternity Beta Theta Pi, training with the university's Navy ROTC program, and openly dating his boyfriend. The brothers of Beta Theta Pi had made it clear to Belok that they welcomed gays during rush, and in the basement of one fraternity party, Belok and his boyfriend felt comfortable enough to kiss.

Another institution on campus proved less accommodating.

After the party, fellow ROTC members Dave Perry and Nick Trimis reported the display to their superiors. "In the basement of Beta Theta Pi . . .  Belok introduced me to another male, who he referred to as his 'special friend,' " Trimis wrote in a report. "Within five minutes of this introduction, I witnessed [midshipman] Belok kissing this individual on the lips. I decided I needed to leave after this encounter." After a review, Belok was dismissed from the program.

Between 1993 and 2010, the U.S. military discharged over 14,000 servicemen and women under the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy barring gays from serving openly in the armed forces. Belok's story served as a compelling  example of the absurdity of that rule. After all, this wasn't just the military—this was college. When an official university program can't meet the level of gay acceptance set by a group of frat boys, something's wrong. And beyond adherence to the DADT rule, Belok said he didn't witness much anti-gay sentiment among the other students in his NROTC program. "In the military, there’s a general trend toward conservatism," Belok says. "Some people are homophobic, some people aren't. Some people just keep their mouths shut. But it wasn’t that different from other environments where I’ve worked."

Following his dismissal, Belok used his story to compel Congress to repeal the rule, joining with groups like the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and national activists like Dan Choi to lobby politicians on the issue. Even after the Beta Theta Pi incident, Belok remained confident that he would soon get his chance to rejoin the Navy. "When Obama was elected, I had a lot of hope for the repeal," says Belok, now 20. "I just wish it had happened several years ago."

Belok, now a second-semester junior, doesn’t have enough time left in school to make his mark on the school's NROTC program. “The program relies on at least two years in order to get a commission, preferably more than that,” explains Belok. But he's still got his sights set on becoming a Naval officer. After graduation, Belok is considering enrolling in Officer Candidate School, a 13-week program that can serve as a substitute for the ROTC training he missed, post-kiss. “I’m just as interested, but I’m trying to keep a healthy outlook on the opportunities available to me," Belok says. "I'm keeping my options open."

As for Perry and Trimis, Belok says they haven't talked since the repeal. (Perry later voiced regret for reporting Belok). "I haven’t really talked to them since [the dismissal] happened," Belok says. "I think maybe they've been avoiding me."