I’m pretty sure that the best school for an LGBT student is Warren Wilson but I’m looking for the public schools here in NC that are the most friendliest to LGBT students. I used http://www.campusprideindex.org/ but it doesn’t have every NC school. If anyone could share their experience in NC I would really appreciate it. I’d like to know about how friendly each school is, dating (I’m a gay male for reference), even the nightlife
PS I don’t have the grades for UNC CH and NC State is a huge reach. I won’t stop you from discussing them but I’m more focused on UNC Wilmington, UNC Charlotte, UNC Greensboro, UNC Asheville, UNC Pembroke, App State, Western, and East Carolina.
I’m admittedly not familiar with the NC public school system, but I do know a few things about choosing an LGBTQ-friendly school. My main advice would be to look at their websites. Even if they’re not on Campus Pride, they should say if they have either an LGBTQ office or, more generally, a diversity office. They also probably have a list, somewhere, of all the clubs and activities available on campus. Do they have some sort of Pride group? I know it’s summer now, but do they have past listings of things like drag shows, dances, rallies, etc.?
The presence of such groups and offices can be a good sign. What’s even better is if they list their contact information, as many of them hopefully will (the diversity offices/resource centers should have phone numbers or emails, even if the Pride student groups don’t). You can contact them to ask how active the groups are, how friendly the campus is as a whole, etc. They should be used to answering such queries from prospective students.
As for nightlife – do you mean in terms of the community? If so, Google is definitely your friend. Check to see if there are active bars and clubs, if there are community centers, etc. In general, the more urban a location is, the more you’ll probably find. If a school is in a more rural area, you might have to commute to find a good night scene.
I hope that helps. Sorry I don’t know anything more specific – have you checked to see if any of the schools have their own forums here?
It did help thank you. Generally the Western half of NC is more LGBT friendly than the East but there are exceptions. I live on the East and I think UNC Asheville is my best option. Republican Senator Jim Forrester once called Asheville a “Cesspool of Sin” and I’m almost sure Asheville is proud of that title. Plus Asheville is a small but dense city with 3 gay bars within a mile of each other (used to be about 5). From the stuff you’ve said I think my best options are UNC Asheville, App State, UNC Charlotte, and UNC Greensboro. I actually found out that UNCG has a nickname, UNC Gay, because of its large LGBT population. Once again thank you.
Asheville I think would probably the best, far and away. With Greensboro and App being second. I’m not too sure about Pembroke or WCU, but from what I hear/know, UNCC and ECU are more conservative and probably not as good of a fit as the others.
UNC-A is a good bet.
I think UNC-W is okay, certainly not as conservative as ECU since Wilmington has the studios and all the film people, which bring different views than “traditional Carolina”. App State should be okay too.
UNC-Asheville is a safe bet. Asheville has a strong LGBT community.