Gay Life @ UNC?

<p>Hey, </p>

<p>so I recently got accepted to UNC!! UNC is incredible in every different aspect, but I have always been curious in how gay life is in campus? I'm planning on coming out when I enter college and I want to know if gays/lesbians are generally accepted in the community. If so, are there several other gays in the school? Would it be feasible to meet other gays in the school? I don't really plan on having only gay friends, but it would be nice to have some friends with something to talk about that I can't really say to others.</p>

<p>Also, I'm looking for a gay roommate (preferably incoming freshmen like me), and I'm finding it impossible to find a friendly and active gay guy. But I guess I don't necessarily have to have a gay roommate to have an enjoyable college experience.</p>

<p>I was wondering the same thing! I’m gay, but I’ve been out in high school. And I was accepted EA. This would be great if a current student could answer this! Haha :)</p>

<p>I am also gay and have been wondering about this very thing. I can’t come out publicly in college on pain of word getting back to my IFB (scary religious baptists, look them up) parents and losing financial support. However, I do believe there are already a few threads on this matter.</p>

<p>IMO gay life is openly accepted on campus - surprisingly so for a southern school. UNC/Chapel Hill/carrboro is known for having a gay community presence. See if you can get in touch with someone at the lgbtq center at UNC <a href=“http://lgbtq.unc.edu/[/url]”>http://lgbtq.unc.edu/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If you are a gay guy, is having a gay guy roommate really the best idea? </p>

<p>But yep, gay people are pretty accepted here. It’s not a big city, and there will be a few people who don’t like you, but even they’ve mostly learnt to keep their bigotry to themselves.</p>

<p>I’ve posted about this before, but one problem is the lack of a gay bar or bar night that hasn’t been overtaken by straight girls who ‘just want to dance’.</p>

<p>UNC is supposed to be super accepting about LGBT stuff… one of the reasons I’m going here over Duke. I know two girls who are dating and who say they’ve never felt anything but fully supported by the community, and they walk around holding hands and everything. If you look in the Daily Tar Heel, they also might be making optional gender neutral housing next year, so you could room with a girl if you’d be more comfortable with that.</p>

<p>@keepittoyourself: Could you give me some reasons why rooming with another gay guy be considered a bad idea?</p>

<p>But I don’t care if there’s no gay bar or club. There are other places to hang out. I just want to meet at least one other gay guy that can be cool to hang out with, and I hope going to UNC could make that happen. I’m not really the kind of guy that people quickly label as gay. Most people would think of me as straight by the way I act. Idk, I just want to meet another gay friend.haha!</p>

<p>@UNC2016, I don’t know you, but if I end up going to UNC I would be happy to be your friend. However, keepittoyourself does have a point. A gay roommate is generally not the best idea; I’m gay, but the idea of rooming with someone who might be interested in me bothers me for the simple reason that should something “happen” and then go wrong, my private life and my studies will be compromised until I can find another roommate. I’m not sure if that makes sense.</p>

<p>I’d think it’s a bad idea for the same reason that it would be a bad idea to have a straight guy and a girl sharing. The dorms here are a bit primitive, so you’d actually be sharing your sleeping space with this person: what if you are attracted to them and they aren’t into you? Or vice versa?</p>

<p>You should have no trouble finding gay people to hang around with. There’s a fairly small but socially active gay scene here.</p>

<p>Gender neutral sounds like a big roll of the dice. What would prevent straight kids to lie just so they can live with their boyfriend/girlfriend? I really feel for you since you don’t feel comfortable telling your parents about your sexuality. Honestly, it would be a tough thing for me to hear as a parent, but I love my son and just want him to have a long happy life. He’s not gay, but if he was, being uncomfortable would be my problem not his. Anyway, I hope college is everything you want it to be!</p>

<p>Gender neutral housing was just nixed for next year, but it is a possibility in the future. From my experiences, there are a ton of gay guys here and nobody cares one bit. The LGBTQ</p>

<p>*sorry, cut off.</p>

<p>The LGBTQ center is very good as well. I volunteered there last semester for a class and it was a great experience. My backpack is covered with ally buttons. :)</p>

<p>@SanfordDad: Yeah, I don’t even know how to tell my parents yet. And I feel bad keeping this secret from them because they have the right to know. It’s like I’m a living lie to them. But thanks, college is going to be how I make it to be!
@SweeneyTodd: Yeah, idk you either, but I’m sure if we clicked we’d be good friends. So is UNC your first choice?</p>

<p>Also, if I do end up being attracted to my roommate and he doesn’t feel the same way, then I can easily get over it. We can just be really good friends and that’s fine with me. I’ve lived almost my entire life in the closet being attracted to someone, but getting over it and being good friends because he wasn’t gay. But again, I just want a roommate I can come into peaceful terms and hang out with (straight or gay). But idk, I still think a gay roommate wouldn’t be that much of a bad idea.</p>

<p>And idk if I would want to room in the neutral gender dorms (just my preference).</p>

<p>@Sweeney and fhm101: are any of you guys going to decisions day? I was thinking of using that day to meet potential roommates.haha!</p>

<p>I am one of the few who have no “first choice” college as of yet. I’m going to the scholarship day on Friday, and depending on if they offer me a decent amount of merit money or not, I will go there…</p>

<p>Definitely understandable!</p>

<p>So I was looking at some previous posts and I read that there are a good number of gay people at UNC. Is that true? I’m sorry if that sounds like a silly question to ask. I’m just curious. :D</p>

<p>@jessimo: I know you just said there’s a ton of gay guys at UNC, but what do you consider a ton? In my high school, a ton is like 4 gay guys out of the whole student body.haha</p>

<p>I have been accepted to UNC, as well, and I have also been very curious about the gay life on campus. Do any current students/recent alumni have any insight (especially in terms of #s and the possibility of dating). Also, how easy is it to meet outside of official LGBT organizations/events for those who don’t wish to get involved in those groups?</p>

<p>@sweeneytodd I’ll be at scholarship day too!</p>

<p>That’s great! Have you read our assigned article yet? …And I am so excited but nervous at the same time. I just had a phone interview with Davidson for the Belk scholarship and I stuttered the whole time. I hope scholarship day at UNC is less nerve-wracking!</p>

<p>There’s a saying here about the 60:40 ratio of girls to guys. All the good guys are either gay or taken. The LGBTQ community on campus is well represented and very welcomed. I can’t imagine go through a day without seeing at least one person I know is gay.</p>

<p>I obviously can’t comment on dating, but I’m sure it happens just like in the straight scene. There are a ton of hook ups and it can take a while to find a nice guy. </p>

<p>I think it may be more difficult to meet up if you’re not in any of the groups, but is there a reason you wouldn’t want to? The gay community here is very interconnected and they all know each other, either through different groups or some other way I don’t know about. However, one of my gay friends who hasn’t joined any groups hasn’t had a hard time at all making accepting friends, and last time we talked he was talking to this one guy. </p>

<p>Of all the schools in the south, UNC is probably one of the most, if not the most, gay friendly.</p>

<p>Thanks jessimo for that insight! I’m feeling a bit more comfortable going to UNC with my sexuality. I do agree with ReadForCollege7. I too don’t see myself joining the LGBT organization and would rather meet others outside of such a group. But at the end, if it really is hard meeting other gay people outside of the groups, then I’ll give it a try.</p>