<p>I am definitely considering Rhodes College as a place for me, but I was wondering how typically accepting are Rhodes students of gay and lesbian students there? Is it a very open and accepting atmosphere or is there some tension? Is there a gay student population at Rhodes College?
Also, how is the city of Memphis in acceptance towards homosexuals? I read that Rhodes College students sometimes participate in a tradition where they go to the drag ball at a gay club in Memphis so by this, I gathered that maybe being gay was not a huge issue at Rhodes. </p>
<p>I’m not a student, so I can’t give you that perspective. That said, here’s the website for the Gay Straight Alliance at Rhodes:
[Rhodes</a> College Gay Straight Alliance](<a href=“http://orgs.rhodes.edu/gsa/]Rhodes”>http://orgs.rhodes.edu/gsa/) </p>
<p>If you hit the Contact page, you’ll get a list of the 08-09 officers (all students) who could likely help. I don’t know off hand which of those are seniors, but if their email bounces back, you know they’re gone. Also, the group’s advisor is listed on that page as well, and he could put you in touch with students who could answer the question for you.</p>
<p>As a student here, I would absolutely say that our campus is open and supportive of our diverse students. Rhodes is a college with a great deal of diversity—our freshman class alone was 20% students of color, 75% out of state (I’m from Vermont, actually). We also have a huge amount of religious diversity, socioeconomic diversity; I think you’ll find a lot of different perspectives here. In terms of the openness of our campus, we have an active Gay-Straight Alliance here at Rhodes ([Rhodes</a> College Gay Straight Alliance](<a href=“http://orgs.rhodes.edu/gsa/index.html]Rhodes”>http://orgs.rhodes.edu/gsa/index.html)), as well as access to all of the resources Memphis has to offer. We also have a very successful program called Safe Zones, composed of faculty and staff who are interested in supporting the GLBTIQ community and increasing awareness on campus.</p>
<p>The Memphis community also has a very active Gay and Lesbian Community Center ([Memphis</a> Gay and Lesbian Community Center](<a href=“http://www.mglcc.org/]Memphis”>http://www.mglcc.org/)), which many of our students volunteer at (especially peer counseling) as well as participate in their activities. I’m not familiar with much outside of this program (as far as Memphis goes), but our Gay-Straight Alliance could certainly point you towards some great resources. The gay club you mentioned is Backstreet. I’ve been there to celebrate a gay friend’s birthday so our students definitely do go there. It was a ton of fun and I’ve been hoping for a reason to go back sometime soon.</p>
<p>In terms of our handbook and policies, we have both a Commitment to Diversity statement ([Rhodes</a> College | Rhodes College Commitment to Diversity](<a href=“http://www.rhodes.edu/collegehandbook/10309.asp]Rhodes”>http://www.rhodes.edu/collegehandbook/10309.asp)) and an Anti-Discrimination and Harassment Policy ([Rhodes</a> College | Anti Discrimination and Harassment Policy](<a href=“http://www.rhodes.edu/collegehandbook/10308.asp]Rhodes”>http://www.rhodes.edu/collegehandbook/10308.asp)), which is for students, faculty, and staff. We also have an honor code that every student must sign when they enter that is two-fold: the first is that every student will not lie, cheat, or steal; the second is the Social Regulations facet that requires a respect level of all members of our community. Honestly, our honor code is something that is not taken lightly and I will say that I never feel safer or more secure than when I’m on campus. I’m sure that any student you talk to would agree with me. I’ve actually never seen anything discriminatory towards any of our students in my time here.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions, feel free to ask me and I’ll do my best to answer for you.</p>
<p>I have gay friends at Harding (yes, they exist), U Memphis, and Rhodes. While the colleges are more accepting (particularly Rhodes), the city of Memphis is not that great for LGBT folks. I’ve felt much more comfortable in my hometown of similarly-sized Charlotte, although I am probably biased.</p>
<p>My daughter is straight but she attends lots of the Gay Straight Alliance events on campus. She said they are very well attended. One of her favorite events last semester was volunteering at the Pink Palace Halloween party that raises money for people living with HIV/AIDS. She and her friends worked for hours on their costumes and had a great time.</p>