<p>I am wondering if there is a gay presence at Rice, if there is a GBSA or equivalent. Have to confess my northern bias about southern schools - Rice fits is so many ways but need to make sure there is acceptance of gay community on campus.</p>
<p>See link: [url=<a href="http://www.ruf.rice.edu/%7Egather/about.htm%5Dgather.%5B/url">http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~gather/about.htm]gather.[/url</a>] Definitely there is acceptance of gay community on campus. pm me if you want more info.</p>
<p>Rice seems to be very accepting of gay students. DD has a number of gay friends and they all just hang out together, gay singles, gay couples, straight singles and straight couples. Does not seem to be a big deal. (And they are not all from the arts departments :))</p>
<p>GATHER no longer exists. It combined with PRIDE to form Q&A (Queers and Allies). When I asked my friend, who was the vice president of GATHER/Q&A why they changed the name from GATHER, his response was, "because [GATHER] was just really f***ing gay."</p>
<p>I'm not sure what that has to do with being gay on campus, but it's a funny story. Anyway, I think that in any non-religious private research university — Rice included — you're going to find a community that is accepting of pretty much anything. One of my friends had come out to only two friends in high school; by the end of O-Week he was so comfortable at Rice that he had come out his his advisor, his O-Week group, and the entire residential college. Rice is an incredibly open and accepting place, and you have nothing to worry about.</p>
<p>As far as acceptance on campus, things are great. It is really a non-issue for most people. I'm a lesbian, and I'm friends with all kinds of people. I'm even really good friends with some very religious people, which used to be a huge red flag for me back home where the community opposition to my school's GSA came primarily from the churches in the community. It just goes to show how accepting the general Rice population is. There is one guy on my floor who was homeschooled for twelve years (he is kind of lacking in the social skills department) in an evangelical household who is very against homosexuality, but whenever he starts to say something to that effect, I don't even have to say anything because everyone around me says it first and lets him know that his intolerance isn't acceptable. He's the only intolerant person I've encountered here, and is an anomaly.</p>
<p>Compared to my high school, it seems like there are a TON of gay guys here. It might not be as much as northern schools, but there's still a fair amount. Gay girls are harder to come by, unfortunately. Dating can be difficult since the pool is kind of small. While it's frustrating at times, overall, I wouldn't want to be anywhere but Rice. I'm from the north (well, midwest?) and always thought I'd end up at an east coast school, but I turned down Columbia, Northwestern, etc., arguably much more gay-prolific places, to come to the awesomeness that is Rice.</p>
<p>Dd was involved in Gather; I guess I am behind the times! ;)</p>
<p>I've always known that rice was ultra-accepting, but I've never gotten the chance to actually speak to gay Rice students. Interesting. </p>
<p>I'm from a very international setting, where I have never really felt the need to hide stuff from my friends. My parents are a completely different story, I haven't told them a thing, but at least I feel like my whole school is fine with it. I'm glad to hear that Rice is just as accepting. </p>
<p>I have a question that has been bothering me for some time: how is rooming managed? Personally, I would not mind whomever I roomed with, but what would happen on the very off chance that whomever I roomed with was not completely comfortable with me? I completely understand if somebody feels uncomfortable rooming with me, and I would not want to cause anyone discomfort, or force them to accept me. I am just wondering as to how that particular situation would be resolved from an administrative standpoint.</p>
<p>Oh, and also, how easy/hard is it to find someone at Rice? By someone, I mean 'someone special.' I go to a high school with 200 kids, and I'm the only openly gay one in the whole high school. I get vibes from other guys, but everyone knows that vibes can be deceptive, and that they're almost never sufficiently encouraging.</p>
<p>Rice has a very comprehensive, open-ended, detailed roommate matching form. I said specifically on mine that I was gay and above all else needed someone who would be ok with that, which, according to my O-week coordinators (the ones who do roommate matching), was not a difficult thing to find. For what it's worth, my roommate is awesome and I'm living with her and four others who are equally accepting in a house next year.</p>
<p>I'm not going to lie, but it can be difficult finding someone of the same sex here. Granted, I've only been here a semester, so, I dunno. Feel free to message me with any questions!</p>