<p>The Blue Devils United appears to be a strong organization for gay students. Although, I am a little skeptical because I have heard that being gay at Duke was pretty taboo. Is Duke a good environment for gay students? Duke seems to practically be stellar in every other aspect. :)</p>
<p>Hi fellow Arkansasan. (Not a fan of Searcy because the Taylor brothers kept on beating us in chess. :<)</p>
<p>Duke is not a great environment for gay students.</p>
<p>dntw8up- I could not disagree more. I was hoping to see that CC improved since I’ve been gone, but clearly misinformation is still being spread.</p>
<p>I can’t gush enough about how great Duke is for LGBT students. It’s simply the most warm and welcoming place I’ve encountered. </p>
<p>[ul][<em>]As you know, Duke has a great student group called Blue Devils United, which puts on several events and protests throughout the year. There are also LGBT groups for graduate students, law students, medical students, and even divinity students.
[</em>]A new group for lesbians called Women Loving Women was created last year.
[<em>]The Study of Sexualities program is growing, and its courses are pretty popular.
[</em>]The Center for LGBT life is smack dab in the middle of campus, and it’s a great place to read or just hang out. It’s fairly new (5 years or so) and the second largest in the country, with pretty much any LGBT book/magazine/DVD you can think of.
[<em>]Every Friday the Center hosts “Fab Fridays” where people can come and hang out to talk, eat, play games, etc. It’s an awesome way to relax after a long week.
[</em>]Every other Monday night a confidential discussion group is held to discuss LGBT issues, coming out, etc.
[<em>]The Triangle area is VERY accepting, and there are a lot of LGBT folks in the area (with great nightlife). UNC has a very large and active group called GLBT-SA, and it’s a short busride away. There are LGBT nights at a club on Franklin Street (Sunday nights) and 9th Street (Friday nights).
[</em>]Although the out undergrad LGBT population at Duke is smaller than at large publics, it’s a great group of people. I’ve dated and know several other people in relationships, so it’s fairly easy to date. Hookups are also common, if you’re more into that.
[<em>]Duke is EXTREMELY supportive and surprisingly liberal. I was a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Task Force, which is composed of students, staff, and faculty who work to address LGBT-related policy issues. For example, the Task Force instituted same-sex unions in Duke Chapel and created gender-neutral bathrooms.
[</em>]Duke has a program called Ally Network that trains people of all orientations on how to be good allies. It’s extremely popular, and over 300 people joined in the first year alone. Many faculty and RAs are trained Allies.
[li]There are many, many great events that go on during the year. For example, John Amaechi and Gene Robinson gave talks, we did a Prop 8 protest, we threw our annual Lavender Ball, we hosted a drag show, seniors participated in Lavender Graduation, etc. Most recently, we observed the National Day of Silence on Friday and had hundreds (literally) of Duke students sign up to participate and wear the NDOS button. There are so many ways to get active that trust me, you won’t have time to attend them all.[/li][li][url=<a href=“http://www.unityconference.webs.com/]Unity[/url”>http://www.unityconference.webs.com/]Unity[/url</a>]. Probably the most amazing LGBT experience you can have. It was AMAZING.[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>If you or anyone else has any questions about LGBT life at Duke and/or UNC, PM me.</p>
<p>Wow! Warblersrule86 that is awesome!! Why don’t people quit calling it “Duke” and instead refer to it is “Perfection” ?!? haha That information pretty much sealed the deal for me. lol </p>
<p>On another note, noobcake!! Who are you, and where are you from? lol I parked next to the younger Taylor brother this year at school. Small world!! They are unstoppable in chess. I had their mom for pre algebra in junior high; That was fun. tehe</p>
<p>Ok, you are a Duke student that formerly attended Little Rock Central. Gah, I freaking LOVE Central. At AGS all the Central kids were fabulous!! Do you know Neelam, Taylor B, Vicki, Daphne, John Allen, John Grove, or Blake Brizzolara? They are all class of 2010. </p>
<p>BTW Anyone with more insight on LGBT life @ Duke is more than welcome to comment; however, I feel warblers nailed it in a SINGLE post! lol</p>
<p>As another gay student at Duke, I’ll second what warblers said. My experiences here have been nothing but positive. From a social standpoint, being gay has never been an issue. Additionally, the available resources, though I admittedly don’t take advantage of them as much as I should, are impressive.</p>
<p>OP - You admit you’ve heard Duke isn’t gay friendly, and while it is nice to hear what you want to hear, please don’t discount everything you heard prior to posting your question.</p>
<p>Obviously everything should be taken into consideration, but I think most of the derogatory remarks are just associated with the perpetuated negative image of Duke (i.e. upper class, white, prejudiced, and southern) All of which are…wrong! lol I know many top LACs are extremely gay friendly; however, those schools do not have the type of environment that I would want/excel in. I have also heard a MYRIAD of amazing comments on the Blue Devils United. That makes me happy. I’m not asking for a really gay environment, otherwise I would be applying to NYU. lol In a nutshell, I think I have a fit for Duke. It’s not something I can concisely explain. It just feels “right.” I feel like Duke has really progressed over the years to create a diverse and accepting environment. As a southerner, I am proud! 
haha</p>
<p>Hi there.</p>
<p>I’m a senior out gay student at Duke and I’ve never encountered any discrimination or prejudice here–I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with the other students, faculty, and organizations. That’s not to say it’s perfect–certainly, we have our problems–but we’re working hard to improve things even further.</p>
<p>If you’re interested in reading more about what it’s like, BDU has actually just relaunched our blog which is intended to give a snapshot of what LGBT life at Duke is like. We just launched today, but there are daily contributors so definitely keep checking back :)</p>
<p>[our</a> lives blog.](<a href=“http://www.bluedevilsunited.com%5Dour”>http://www.bluedevilsunited.com)</p>
<p>Helvetica, what I am getting from you posts is that, while being in an atmosphere that is supportive or your sexuality is important, your sexuality is but one facet of who you are and you think Duke has what you need all-around. </p>
<p>Very wise. It is true that other institutions have larger, more visible LGBT communties. It is also true that Duke has qualities and attributes unique to Duke.</p>
<p>hey - just wanted to say that i’ve had a great experience here as well. being gay will definitely not be a problem at duke. hope to see you on campus next year!</p>
<p>also - not sure if this has been pointed out yet or not, but if you’re worried about community size, the great thing about the triangle is that you have three core universities within it. unc, duke, and ncstate lgbt students frequent the same gay bars, clubs, etc., so there are plenty of lgbt people to meet, hang out with, and date.</p>