acanfora entered pennsylvania state university in fall 1968, with the intent to major in meteorology and participate in the navel reserve officers training corps. at the end of his sophomore year, acanfora realized he wanted to teach and decided to major in secondary education. in his junior year, he joined, and soon thereafter became treasurer of the homophiles of penn state (hops), a newly formed campus organization dedicated to protecting the civil and constitutional rights of homosexuals and increasing public understanding of homosexuality. when the university refused to grant official recognition to the organization, four of its members, including acanfora, instituted legal action to compel such recognition. that action, which ultimately was successful, received considerable local publicity, in the course of which acanfora acknowledged that he was a homosexual.